UC-NRLF 


THE 


PRINCIPLES  OF  PEACE 


EXEMPLIFIED    IN    THE    CONDUCT 


SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS   IN  IRELAND, 

DURING   THE 

REBELLION  OF  THE  YEAR  1798, 

WITH    SOME 

PRELIMINARY    AND    CONCLUDING 
OBSERVATIONS. 


BY  THOMAS  HANCOCK,  M.  D. 


Stereotype   Hfcftfon. 

,  ;   ,,.   -_^_    ,.. 

',.'  *   *• 

BOSTON: 
AMERICAN    PEACE    SOCIETY 


PREFACE. 


THE  documents  from  which  this  brief  narrative  is  com- 
piled, have,  most  of  them,  been  some  years  in  the  author's 
possession.  They  have  been  obtained  from  those  who  were 
concerned,  either  as  actors  or  eye-witnesses,  in  the  scenes 
which  are  depicted.  They  contain  the  names  of  such  indi- 
viduals as  are  alluded  to  in  the  narrative ;  but  the  author  is 
placed  under  the  necessity  of  generally  withholding  them.* 

Though  some,  amongst  the  individuals  noticed,  are  now 
in  the  silent  grave,  yet  the  nature  of  the  scenes  in  which 
they  were  engaged,  requires  that  regard  should  be  paid  to 
their  surviving  friends  and  immediate  descendants.  Asso- 
ciated, as  were  those  scenes,  with  the  heart-burnings  of 
civil  war,  it  is  possible  that,  even  at  this  distance  of  time, 
the  narrative  might  recall  some  feelings,  in  societies  and 
neighborhoods,  which,  for  the  sake  of  harmony  and  good 
fellowship,  ought  to  be  consigned  to  oblivion. 

If  this  reason  be  entitled  to  consideration,  in  so  far  as  it 
relates  to  the  descendants  of  those  whose  acts  are  recorded, 
the  surviving  individuals,  to  whom  allusion  is  made,  have 
much  stronger  motives  to  urge  the  concealment  they  have 
requested. 

Under  disadvantages  which  thus  attach  to  the  publication, 
the  author  cannot  do  less  than  assure  his  reader  of  his 
undoubted  belief  in  the  truth  of  the  incidents  that  are 

*  The  narrative  respecting  Ballitore  affords  an  exception. 

M128821 


4  PREFACE. 

recorded :  being  oereonally  acquainted  not  only  with  some 
of  the  individuals,  but  of  the  writers  concerned,  and  know- 
ing that  they  are  entitled  to  the  fullest  credit.  But  the 
documents  being  simply  designed  to  show  in  what  manner 
a  number  of  persons,  who  followed  the  principles  of  peace, 
regulated  their  conduct  in  a  time  of  civil  warfare,  and, 
through  divine  mercy,  experienced  preservation ;  and  not 
having  been  collected  to  set  forth  the  praise,  either  of  any 
individual  or  of  any  society,  the  names  of  the  actors  are  of 
minor  importance. 

As  the  heads  of  the  chapters  will  show  that  some  little 
arrangement  is  attempted,  it  will  readily  occur  to  the  reader 
that  the  order  of  time  could  not  be  very  strictly  observed ; 
and  he  will  therefore  find  that  a  few  events  are  narrated,  for 
the  purpose  of  classification,  after  others,  which,  in  fact,  they 
preceded. 

As  the  time  will  undoubtedly  come  —  and  no  one  can 
say  how  soon  it  may  arrive  —  when  the  Christian  principles 
of  peace  will  be  more  generally  received  and  acted  upon 
in  the  world  than  they  are  at  present ;  every  contribution, 
however  small,  pointing  out  the  way  in  which  the  followers 
of  peace  have  endeavored  to  obey  their*  Lord  and  Master's 
literal  injunctions  on  this  fundamental  point,  and  commem- 
orating the  blessed  effects  of  their  obedience,  may  have 
some  little  weight  in  the  balance,  to  determine  the  minds 
of  hesitating  Christians  on  the  side  of  peace. 

And  thus,  although  the  store  may  happen  to  be  slowly 
collected,  and  the  light  to  be  very  gradually  diffused,  an 
accumulation  of  facts  and  testimonies  from  different  parts 
of  the  world,  and  a  concentration  of  light  from  the  increas 
ing  convictions  of  truth  in  different  minds,  employed  in 
examining  this  important  question,  may  at  last  be  expected 
to  work  such  a  change  of  public  sentiment  in  favor  of 
peace,  as  shall  establish  the  principle  incontrovertibly,  thai 
Christianity  is  altogether  a  religion  of  peace  —  a  system  of 


PREFACE.  O 

love  and  good  will  to  men,  —  whether  viewed  in  the  mode 
of  its  introduction  or  of  its  propagation,  or  in  its  principles, 
or  in  relation  to  the  prophecies  respecting  it. 

It  was  announced  with  the  angelic  song  of  PEACE.  It 
was  founded  by  the  Prince  of  Peace.  It  depended  so 
entirely  on  its  own  peaceable  armor  —  the  meekness  and 
lamb-like  disposition  of  its  ambassadors  —  to  overcome  its 
enemies,  that  it  was  propagated  in  direct  defiance  of  the 
sword.  It  had  so  little  dependence  on  the  sword  to  aid  its 
progress,  that  it  has  never  made  a  single  conquest  over  the 
minds  of  men,  when  its  professed  followers  have  used  the 
sword  in  its  sacred  name.  It  inculcates  those  dispositions 
in  heart  and  mind,  which  can  have  no  possible  affinity  with 
the  pride  of  martial  glory,  nor  concord  with  the  turbulence 
of  military  achievements.  Peace  was  the  legacy  bequeathed 
to  bis  disciples  by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church.  Upon  the 
peacemakers  he  pronounced  his  blessing.  Peace  was 
predicted  to  be  the  sign  and  supreme  excellency  of  the 
Messiah's  kingdom  in  the  latter  days  on  the  earth  ;  and  the 
believer  in  Scripture  must  be  assured  that  a  time  will  come 
when  there  will  be  PERMANENT  AND  UNIVERSAL  PEACE. 
All  these  things  demonstrate  that  a  pure  Christianity  is 
identified  with  a  state  of  peace ;  and,  surely,  we  have  evi- 
dence enough  from  past  history  to  convince  the  most  doubt- 
ing in  the  present  day*,  of  the  great  preponderance,  in  the 
scale  of  national  glory,  of  peace  over  war ;  and  to  prove  ita 
loveliness,  its  security,  and  its  transcendent  excellency. 
1* 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Page. 
Preliminary    Observations    on    the    Practical    Influence    of 

Peaceable  Dispositions 7 

Plea  of  Self-defence 10 

Plea  of  Justice 15 

Plea  of  Necessity 18 

CHAPTER  II. 

State  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  previous  to,  and  during  the 
Rebellion 28 

CHAPTER  III. 

Of  the  Dangers  to  which  the  Society  was  exposed  in  the 
Attendance  of  their  Meetings 41 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Of  the  Trials  to  which  Friends  were  exposed  for  refusing  to 
conform  to  the  Ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  Rome 45 

CHAPTER  V. 

Testimonies   of  Friends   from   different    Parts,  including   a 
Narrative  of  Events  at  Ballitore,  and  a  few  Particulars  of 

the  Battles  of  Ross  and  Antrim 55 

Battle  of  Ross 68 

Battle  of  Antrim *. 70 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Of  the  General  Preservation  of  the  Society  during  the  Re- 
bellion    79 

Bombardment  of  Copenhagen 93 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Of  the  Brotherly  Care  of  the  Society  towards  its  Suffering 
Members 95 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Concluding  Observations 99 


. 


THE 

PRINCIPLES   OF  PEACE, 


CHAPTER  I. 

Preliminary  Observations  on  the  Practical  Influence  of  Peace- 
able Dispositions. 

THERE  are  two  different  lights  in  which  we  may  habitually 
regard  our  fellow-creatures ;  either  with  feelings  of  good- 
will and  affection,  or  of  distrust  and  suspicion,  as  we  are 
disposed  to  take  a  favorable  view  of  human  nature,  or  the 
contrary.  According  as  we  are  influenced  by  one  or  other 
of  these  dispositions,  we  shall  be  led  to  attract  our  fellow-man 
towards  us,  or  to  repel  him  from  us  ;  to  look  upon  an  erring 
brother  with  a  degree  of  pity,  and  in  a  forgiving  spirit,  (even 
when  he  harbors  the  most  unjust  feelings  respecting  us,)  or 
to  place  ourselves  in  a  hostile  attitude  against  him,  even  for 
the  slightest  supposed  offence.  It  is  obvious  that  as,  by  our 
own  conduct,  we  excite  the  good  or  evil  propensities  of  others, 
so  we  must  expect  to  make  ourselves  liable  to  their  effects. 
For  if  we  display  those  dispositions  which  lead  to  wrath  and 
envy,  we  must  look,  in  the  course  of  things,  for  the  manifes- 
tation of  similar  feelings,  at  least  from  the  rude  and  undisci- 
plined, who  are  not  better  informed.  It  is  in  the  nature  of 
love,  as  it  is  of  cruelty,  to  propagate  its  kind ;  and,  by  our 
example,  as  well  as  by  the  immediate  effect  of  our  conduct, 
we  make  others  peaceable  or  vindictive :  these  are  natural 
consequences. 

According,  therefore,  as  we  cultivate  in  ourselves  the 
benevolent  or  malevolent  affections  towards  others,  and  ex- 
cite corresponding  feelings  in  them,  we  may  be  assured,  that 
such  will  be  the  state  of  society  in  our  immediate  vicinity ;  — 
and,  if  we  reason  from  the  less  to  the  greater  —  from  our  own 
circle  to  the  widest  sphere  of  our  influence  —  such  will  be 


8 

our  friendly  or  unfriendly  relation  to  mankind  universally, 
and  consequently  our  influence  in  promoting  the  happiness  or 
misery  of  the  world. 

Now,  though  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  the  principles 
above  stated  are  enforced  in  the  clearest  and  strongest  man- 
ner in  the  precppts  of  Christianity,  and,  moreover,  that  it  is 
necessary  the  mind  should  be  deeply  imbued  with  the  peculiar 
-spirit  of  Christian  love,  before  it  can  bring  forth,  in  perfection, 
the  fruits  of  peace  and  good- will ;  yet,  before  the  Gospel  was 
ushered  into  the  world,  the  human  mind  had  a  glimpse  of 
the  excellence  and  utility  of  these  principles.  For  heathen 
philosophy  has  told  us  what  ought  to  be  the  rule  of  human 
conduct,  and  the  practice  of  a  wise  and  virtuous  man,  when 
under  opprobrium  and  wrong.  It  has  told  us  that,  by  mildness, 
anger  may  be  appeased,  even  as  "  a  soft  answer  turns  away 
wrath;"  and  that,  by  forbearance,  animosity  may  be  ex- 
tinguished. Pythagoras,  Epictetus,  Plutarch,  Seneca,  and 
others,  teach  us  many  such  lessons. 

But  it  was  reserved  for  a  light,  clearer  than  that  of  either 
Greece  or  Rome,  to  point  out  a  surer  road  to  peace  than  any 
of  tlu'ir  wisest  sages  seem  to  have  been  capable  of  imagining. 
That  light  was  the  Gospel  ;  that  path  was  meekness,  for- 
giveness of  injuries,  and  forbearance  :  these  duties  were 
inculcated  in  the  precept  —  to  love  our  enemies;  and  to  do 
good  unto  all  men. 

The  heathen,  indeed,  saw  something  of  the  excellence  of 
this  principle,  but  did  not  so  far  anticipate  Christianity  as  to 
trust  their  lives  and  fortunes  to  its  government.  Their  gods 
were  implored  in  danger;  but  idolatry  vitiated  their  sacri- 
fices. They  knew  nothing  of  what  it  was  "  to  stand  still  and 
see  the  salvation  of  God." 

The  Jews  advanced  a  step  further :  when  the  cause  was 
not  their  own,  and  their  motive  was  not  ambition  ;  or  when 
danger  was  at  hand,  and  they  meekly  petitioned  for  divine 
aid;  their  enemies  were  scattered  "like  chaff  before  the 
wind,"  and  they  found  that  "  one  could  chase  a  thousand, 
and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight."  But  the  Jews  were  not 
practically  instructed,  and  perhaps  the  spirit  of  the  times  did 
not  permit  them  to  be  so,  in  the  heart-softening  lesson  of 
Christian  charity,  by  meekness  to  disarm  revenge.  They  do 
not  appear  to  have  considered  that  one  act  of  retaliation  only 
prepared  the  way  for  another. 

The  example  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  and  the  history  of 
Christianity  itself,  afford  a  practical  proof  of  the  pacific  effi- 
cacy of  the  Gospel,  and  of  the  universal  love  it  breathes  to 
the  human  family. 


Thus  a  gradual  illumination  may  be  said  to  have  beamed 
upon  the  world  :  —  the  light  of  nature  and  of  reason;  —  the 
outward  and  typical  institutions  of  Moses ;  — the  inward  and 
spiritual  dispensation  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  law  that  resulted  from  the  first  was  vague  and  un- 
certain :  Socrates  and  Cicero  had  no  claims  to  the  legislative 
or  prophetic  character. 

The  Mosaic  code  was  of  a  decided  though  rigid  cast,  partial 
however,  and  adapted  to  the  stubborn  necks  of  a  rebellious 
people.  The  Gospel  was  of  universal  love,  and  as  universal 
application  ;  intelligible  to  all,  and  unlimited  in  its  range. 

The  first  shone  upon  the  human  intellect,  as  through  a 
mist ;  and  the  learned  only  could  perceive  the  signs  of  divine 
wisdom  in  the  Law  of  Nature.  The  second  struck  upon  the 
outward  senses  of  a  peculiar  people;  with  signs,  indeed,  of 
awe  and  terror,  and  with  miraculous  display  of  power ;  in  its 
types  and  ordinances  shadowing  out  the  substantial  and 
spiritual  dispensation  which  should  succeed. 

The  last  was  emitted  from  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  him- 
self) directly  to  the  heart,  with  transcendently  glorious  man- 
ifestations of  divine  love  to  the  human  family.  This  Jast 
dispensation  has  in  itself,  therefore,  the  means  of  accom- 
plishing that  for  which  it  was  designed  —  Peace  on  earth: 
and,  do  we  still  wait  for  something  more  perfect  than  we 
have  yet  received  ?  "  Art  thou  He  that  should  come,  or  look 
we  for  another  ?  " 

Now,  whatever  virtue  it  is  incumbent  upon  a  good  man  to 
be  always  practising,  that  ought  to  be  the  governing  principle 
of  every  human  society,  from  the  contracted  circles  of  families 
and  neighborhoods,  to  the  enlarged  sphere  of  countries  and 
kingdoms.  For,  all  mankind  is  of  one  blood  ;  and  there  is 
not  one  code  for  individuals,  and  another  code  for  associations, 
either  of  few  or  many.  In  respect  to  moral  laws,  there  is  not 
one  code  for  the  prince,  and  another  for  the  people.  All  men 
are  equally  bound  by  the  duties  of  religion.  Christian  virtue 
can  no  more  be  bent  from  its  firm  and  upright  attitude,  to 
suit  the  petty  views  of  the  cunning  and  malicious,  or  even 
the  specious  views  of  political  expediency,  than  the  main  pil- 
lar of  a  temple  can  be  bent  from  its  perpendicular,  without 
endangering  the  ruin  of  the  whole  edifice.  If  the  proposition 
be  true,  that  Peace  is  a  blessing,  and  War  is  a  curse,  the 
motives  and  the  causes  of  the  one  must  be  of  a  character 
directly  opposite  to  the  motives  and  causes  of  the  other ;  and, 
in  so  far  as  human  agency  is  concerned  in  promoting  either, 
the  blessing  will  belong  to  the  peacemaker  or  the  curse  to 


10 

the  violent.  The  elements  of  Peace  are  in  their  nature  and 
operation  supremely  virtuous ;  the  elements  of  War  highly 
vicious.  There  is  nothing  of  seeming  contempt  which  can 
rob  the  first  of  its  excellence,  nor  of  gorgeous  display  which 
can  hide  the  deformity  of  the  last,  and  confer  upon  it  real 
glory.  By  what  perverted  modes  of  thinking,  then,  is  it,  that 
a  practice,  which  has  even  acquired  the  name  of  an  art,  and 
has  proved  an  engine  of  destruction  to  so  many  millions  of 
the  human  race,  should  continue  to  be  trimmed  with  honors, 
and  idolized  with  praises  ?  We  might  reasonably  wonder 
at  the  circumstance,  if  we  did  not  on  all  sides  perceive,  that 
man,  paradoxically  enough,  follows  the  evil  which  he  abhors, 
and  pursues  his  present,  with  infinitely  more  ardor  than  he 
does  his  future,  good.  That,  in  the  case  of  War,  he  should 
be  encouraged,  by  some  wjfee  and  good  men,  to  reconcile  to 
reason  and  justice  the  indulgence  of  his  malevolent  feelings, 
is  cause  of  still  greater  wonder,  and  certainly  of  deep  lamen- 
tation. 

For,  notwithstanding  the  force  of  these  principles,  —  in 
which,  it  is  expected,  most  will  be  agreed,  at  least  in  theory, 
—  when  we  come  to  consider  the  actual  state  of  man,  and 
the  prevalence  of  evil  in  the  world,  we  shall  find  that  many 
specious  arguments  have  been  adduced  against  the  practical 
adoption  of  the  principles  of  Peace.  It  has  been  objected, 
that  nations  could  not  exist  without  War,  —  that  the  wicked 
would  overwhelm  the  good,  and,  although  it  may  be  a  de- 
plorable, that  it  is  still  a  necessary  evil.  Hence,  even  among 
the  professors  of  Christianity,  self-preservation,  which  is 
called  the  first  law  of  nature,  justice,  and  even  necessity, 
have  been  urged,  separately  and  unitedly,  as  affording  unan- 
swerable reasons  for  maintaining  the  attitude,  and  proceeding 
to  the  extremity,  of  War. 

In  our  reasonings  on  this  subject,  it  will  be  assumed,  that 
the  contention  between  individuals,  like  that  between  states, 
arises  from  the  same  principles ;  and  that  the  same  arguments 
will  apply  to  both  cases. 

The  plea  of  Self-defence,  of  Justice,  and  of  Necessity,  will 
be  considered  in  order. 


OF    SELF-DEFENCE. 


Self-defence,  it  m.ust  lie  allowed,  offers  a  plausible  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  active  resistance  with  the  sword.    It  is, 


11 

however,  an  argument  which  would  apply  to  animals  devoid 
of  reason,  better  than  to  man,  who  is  supereminently  styled 
Rational.  It  is  even  opposed  by  the  analogy  of  nature  ;  for, 
in  strict  unison  with  the  moral  s'tate  of  man,  while,  in  some 
of  its  phenomena,  nature  exhibits  what  are  called  physical 
evils,  in  other  words,  disorder  and  imperfection,  —  yet,  in 
others,  she  displays  the  signs  of  most  perfect  physical  beauty 
and  harmony,  and  of  a  workmanship  eminently  divine.  If 
there  be  any  thing  in  such  an  analogy,  it  is  against  the 
argument,  taking  the  different  circumstances  of  man  and  the 
brute  into  consideration ;  for  brutes  do  not  war  against  their 
own  kinds,  as  was  observed  formerly  by  Juvenal.  And  again, 
those  animals  which  are  designed  to  make  prey  of  others  for 
their  support,  are  formed  with  offensive  weapons  ;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  their  prey  are  provided  with  natural  means 
of  escape  or  resistance.  But  the  human  family  is  not  divided 
in  this  way.  into  some  naturally  armed  and  ferocious,  and 
into  others  naturally  unarmed  and  gentle.  We  observe,  in- 
deed, that  mankind  is  distinguished  into  those  endowed  with 
physical,  and  those  with  moral  power.  But  these  distinctions 
are  more  or  less  the  effect  of  education  and  outward  circum- 
stances. In  all  ages,  however,  the  moral  or  intellectual 
endowments  of  man,  have  had  superiority  over  the  physical, 
when  the  energies  of  the  former  have  been  brought  into  full 
play ;  and,  in  the  unerring  scale  of  justice,  it  has  been  pro- 
vided, that  the  moral  influence  and  virtues  of  the  good,  should 
be  a  sufficient  counterbalance  to  the  physical  influence  and 
vices  of  the  bad. 

We  must  conclude,  therefore,  that,  if  the  wise  and  good 
are  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  taking  a  part  in  any  dispute, 
they  are  not  to  take  the  part  which  will  increase  it,  but  that 
which  will  allay  it ;  as  in  this  way  only  can  harmony  be  at 
last  attained.  We  conclude,  that,  if  contests  must  needs 
arise,  the  only  justifiable  warfare,  in  which  the  wise  and  good 
can  engage,  is  that  of  moral  influence  against  brute  violence ; 
in  short,  that  good  dispositions  are  to  be  opposed  to  evil  — 
benevolent  affections  to  malevolent  —  the  principles  of  Peace 
to  the  principles  of  War. 

The  argument  for  self-defence,  by  means  of  deadly  weap- 
ons, assumes,  in  its  very  principles,  that  man  should  always 
be  armed  against  his  fellow-man,  and  that  brute  force  is 
superior  to  reason  ;  consequently,  that  a  rational  being  is  not 
to  be  convinced,  and  persuaded,  and  reconciled  ;  but  that, 
when  offering  violence,  he  is  with  summary  vengeance  to  be 
overthrown  by  violence,  and  put  to  death,  like  one  of  the 


12 

inferior  animals.  Now,  it  is  a  state  of  things  highly  unbe- 
coming to  the  dignity  of  rational  creatures,  —  we  say  the 
dignity,  when  we  speak  of  those  who  are  upon  the  Lord's 
earth  setting  an  example  to  others  both  of  the  excellency  of 
virtue,  and  of  the  superiority  of  moral  to  physical  acquire- 
ments,—  it  is  highly  derogatory  to  the  character  of  moral  and 
intellectual  beings,  that  they  should  go  about  armed  with 
destructive  weapons,  in  dread  of  each  other.  Even  a  Roman 
poet  says:  — 

"  Integer  vitae,  scelerisque  purus, 
Non  eget  Mauri  jaculis,  neque  arcu." 
The  man  of  blameless  life,  and  pure  in  heart, 
Needs  not  the  bow,  nor  venomed  Moorish  dart. 

It  may,  indeed,  be  said,  that  the  first  aggressor  forfeits  the 
claim  and  character  of  man,  and,  therefore,  that  he  ought  to 
be  treated  like  the  brute.  But  that  would  be  to  say.  that  he, 
who  is  urged  to  an  act  of  violence  in  his  defence,  would  also 
be  justified  in  laying  aside  the  attributes  of  reason,  and 
assuming  those  of  the  brute,  because  his  fellow-creature  so 
far  deviated  from  the  line  of  rationality  as  to  set  him  the 
example  ;  it  would  be  a  plea  for  the  degradation  of  reason, 
not  for  its  ascendency.  Man  is  superior  to  the  brute,  not  by 
his  physical,  but  by  his  moral  energies  ;  and  it  would  be  a 
low  distinction  if  one  man  did  not  excel  another  by  the  same 
moral  energies.  Therefore,  if  physical  energies  are  put  forth 
on  one  side,  moral  energies  are  to  be  employed  on  the  other. 
It  is  not  that  the  great,  and  wise,  and  good,  should  come 
down  to  the  level  of  the  mean,  and  ignorant,  and  depraved,  so 
as  to  contend  for  superiority  with  the  weapons  chosen  by  the 
latter ;  but  it  is  to  be  considered  a  contest  of  virtue,  honor, 
justice,  integrity,  benevolence,  and  order,  with  vice,  infamy, 
wrong,  deceit,  violence,  and  confusion.  Who  can  doubt, 
where  such  elements  are  fairly  in  opposition,  to  which  side 
Providence  will  ultimately  give  the  victory  ? 

But  when  a  human  being,  profligate  and  depraved,  knows 
that  society  is  all  up  in  arms,  and  that  cruel  and  vindictive 
laws  are  in  operation  against  him,  he  will  brave  the  worst, 
with  the  nerve  and  desperation  of  one  who  has  never  tasted 
the  milk  of  human  kindness  from  any  of  his  fellow-creatures, 
nor  seen  a  tear  of  pity  and  compassion  flowing  for  his  sake. 
And  so  it  is,  when  the  worse  part  of  society  are  persuaded 
that,  if  they  encounter  the  better  part,  they  will  be  resisted 
with  violence,  and,  if  possible,  put  to  death  ;  they  will  naturally 
prepare  themselves  with  weapons  of  destruction,  and  brace 


13 

their  nerves  to  cruelty ;  because  they  feel  a  conviction,  that 
those  who  would  take  their  lives  if  they  could,  are  brought 
more  to  a  level,  in  spirit  and  intention,  with  themselves.  If 
they  were  persuaded,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  better  part 
would  not  resist  them  to  the  last  extremity,  it  is  most  probable 
that,  whatever  might  be  their  object,  they  would  rarely  attack 
any  one  with  bloody  designs.  When  it  can  be  shown  that 
men,  taken  collectively  or  individually,  can  neither  be  brought 
to  listen  to  reason,  nor  to  humanity,  nor  to  religion  ;  and  that 
reason,  humanity,  and  religion,  have  exhausted  their  power 
against  violence,  without  effect ;  —  when  it  can  be  shown  that 
they  pay  no  respect  to  the  innocent,  peaceable,  virtuous  and 
benevolent ;  then,  indeed,  the  plea  of  self-defence,  if  for  no 
other  end,  yet  for  the  sake  of  maintaining  social  and  moral 
order,  might  be  admitted  to  have  some  weight. 

We  are,  however,  disposed  to  think  —  though  it  is  a  ques- 
tion somewhat  abstruse  and  difficult  to  meddle  with  —  that 
the  proposition  is  founded  in  truth,  that  it  is  not  wholly  by 
physical  influence,  such  as  an  armed  police,  or  a  military  • 
force,  that  civil  order  is  maintained,  even  in  heathen  commu- 
nities. If  this  should  prove  to  be  the  case,  is  it  credible  that, 
in  Christian  societies,  right  should  depend  upon  might  to 
secure  its  ascendency  ?  It  is  the  common  opinion,  we  know, 
that  it  is  physical  influence  alone  which  enforces  subordi- 
nation, and  supports  the  rights  of  justice;  and  it  would  be 
difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  convince  the  majority  that 
this  is  not  the  case.  For  so  long  as  the  views,  and  hopes, 
and  reasonings  of  men  are  outward,  they  will  not  rely  upon 
providential  assistance  or  moral  influence,  even  in  the  con- 
scientious discharge  of  their  duty,  nor  will  they  admit  it  into 
their  calculations. 

When,  indeed,  the  frame  of  civil  society  has  been  for  a 
long  time  leaning  upon  outward  weapons  for  its  support,  its 
integrity  appears  to  be  identified  with  them  ;  so  that  to  take 
them  away  would  seem  to  unhinge  the  whole  structure,  and 
to  expose  it  to  certain  ruin.  If  a  question,  therefore,  as  to 
its  preservation  in  this  state  should  arise,  probably  no  prudent 
man  would  recommend  an  immediate  change  to  an  opposite 
state.  For,  unless  the  whole  movements  of  the  social  sys- 
tem should  at  the  same  time  be  regulated  by  a  truly  Christian 
spirit,  half  measures  would  be  injurious,  (as  any  adulteration 
of  that  which  is  pure,  with  that  which  is  not  so,"  both  in  prin- 
ciple and  practice,  is  sure  to  rob  the  first  of  its  essential 
characters,)  and  would  produce  worse  consequences  than 
•eem  to  await  schemes  entirely  constructed  on  principles  of 
9 


J4 

outward  expediency,  which  have  no  relation  at  all  to  a  future 
state  of  retribution. 

But,  notwithstanding  this  admission  —  (and  it  is  by  no 
means  to  be  understood  as  any  concession  in  favor  of  violence) 
—  whatever  aid  physical  power  may  contribute  to  the  main- 
tenance of  civil  order,  in  societies  whose  institutions  are  not 
all  established  on  a  basis  of  true  wisdom,  after  the.  Christian 
model,  there  is  reason  to  think  that  it  is  the  ascendency  of 
moral  influence,  after  all,  which  mainly  supports  the  fabric, 
and  that  the  great  bulwarks  of  civil  order  rest  on  a  firmer 
foundation  than  any  outward  visible  means  of  defence. 

If  physical  influence  constituted  the  only  means  of  main- 
taining civil  order,  evil-doers  would  plainly  have  the  advantage, 
as  to  their  physical  strength  ;  because  the  disposition  to  vio- 
lence is  more  universal  in  the  world  than  the  disposition  to 
peace  and  forbearance.  Upon  the  principle,  therefore,  that 
the  greatest  amount  of  physical  force  ought  to  maintain  an 
ascendency  in  human  affairs,  violence  and  outrage  should 
prevail,  so  as  to  subvert  all  laws,  both  divine  and  human. 

But  there  is  no  human  society,  which  subsists  in  such  a 
state  of  anarchy.  Therefore,  there  are  other  principles  than 
those  of  violence  and  outrage,  which  operate  in  the  human 
mind  to  prevent  it. 

For,  what  else  should  restrain  the  multitude  of  evil-doers 
from  rising  against  the  good,  and  supporting  the  law  of  vice 
and  the  dominion  of  violence  ?  It  is  certain  that  physical 
power  Avould  be  in  their  hands  to  effect  these  objects,  if  some 
moral  checks  did  not  prevent  them. 

Surely  these  checks  are,  the  natural  feelings  of  the  heart, 
coeval  with  the  first  impressions  of  right  and  wrong,  the 
reverence  of  law  and  justice,  the  natural  sense  of  religion, 
and  the  consciousness  that  all  the  better  feelings  of  mankind, 
as  well  as  their  own  secret  convictions,  would  be  in  array 
against  them,  if  they  should  be  profligate  enough  to  make 
the  attempt. 

It  is  not  the  fear  of  those  punishments  which  are  inflicted 
by  the  law,  as  was  observed  by  Cicero,  that  alone  restrains 
the  violent.  If  this  were  the  only  feeling,  violence  would 
soon  be  triumphant  over  law. 

Law  maintains  its  ascendency,  because  it  is  founded  in 
justice  ;  and  justice  is  formidable  to  the  wicked,  because  it 
is  an  institution  of  the  Deity,  from  the  force  and  sensible 
obligation  of  which  no  man  can  free  his  mind,  except  by  a 
series  of  gradations  in  vice,  and  by  reiterated  acts  of  dis- 
obedience. 


15 

The  Almighty,  therefore,  has  himself  appointed  the  checks, 
which,  we  may  presume,  will  forever  prevent  the  universal 
dominion  of  vice  over  virtue. 

As  to  the  argument  for  self-defence,  then,  little,  upon  the 
Christian  scheme,  can  be  said  in  its  support.  For,  even  if 
we  surrender  the  principle  of  good-will,  which  ought  to  bind 
every  disciple  of  a  benevolent  Lord,  the  Christian  Religion 
requires  that  all  its  followers  should  have  their  daily  supplies 
from  the  Captain  of  their  Salvation ;  and  that  in  all  their 
wants  they  should  derive  their  sufficiency  from  Him  alone, — 
in  all  their  perils  should  seek  his  aid,  in  all  their  afflictions, 
his  spiritual  consolation.  It  can  scarcely  be  necessary  to 
say,  that  the  strength  of  the  true  Christian  is  the  ability  with 
which  he  may  be  endowed  by  his  Divine  Master,  either  to 
think,  to  speak,  or  to  act  He  has  no  independent  existence. 
In  Him  he  lives,  and  moves,  and  has  his  being.  He  has  no 
might  of  his  own  —  certainly  none  that  will  ever  avail  him  — 
to  encounter  the  powers  of  darkness,  which  are  his  only 
enemies,  with  effect 


PLEA    OF    JUSTICE. 

Justice  is  either  relative  or  absolute.  According  to  the 
diversity  of  human  laws,  every  community  may  have  its  pe- 
culiar notions  of  justice  —  and  this  is  relative  :  there  is,  not- 
withstanding, a  principle  of  justice,  which  is  fixed  on  an 
immutable  foundation,  and  applies  to  an  unerring  standard. 
Every  act  of  aggression  on  life  or  property  implies  injustice  ; 
and  as  injustice  ought  to  be  punished,  it  must  be  lawful  to 
prevent  it,  so  far  as  man  is  clearly  commissioned  with 
authority  to  do  so  from  his  Maker.  The  Greeks,  while  they 
differed  among  themselves,  had  notions  of  justice  differing 
in  some  respects  from  those  of  the  Romans.  Both,  like  the 
Persians,  Indians,  and  Chinese,  formed  their  systems  of  juris- 
prudence from  the  light  of  nature.  Wrong,  and  outrage, 
therefore,  have  been  restrained  and  punished,  according  to 
the  notions  of  natural  justice  in  different  countries,  unen- 
lightened by  divine  laws.  Now,  the  divine  laws,  from  which 
justice  has  emanated,  have  been  varied,  for  wise  purposes,  in 
different  ages  and  dispensations  to  man,  as  it  has  pleased  the 
divine  Author  to  promulgate  either  a  Law  of  Fear,  or  a  Law 
of  Love.  —  And  the  institutions  of  Christianity,  being  founded 
on  the  latter  law,  are  more  merciful  than  the  institutions  of 


16 

Moses,  who  was  commissioned  with  the  former.  Therefore 
the  law  of  love  should  be  fundamentally  "part  and  parcel  of 
the  laws  "  and  institutions  of  every  Christian  government. 
If  these  laws  of  Christianity  are  not  in  themselves  adequate 
to  the  support  and  order  of  Christian  states,  then  Christ  came 
into  the  world  to  propose  a  system  of  rules  inapplicable  to 
human  society.  But  the  latter  supposition  cannot  for  a 
moment  be  entertained,  and  therefore  we  must  reject  the 
former,  and  conclude,  that  the  merciful  institutions  of  Chris- 
tianity are  in  themselves  abundantly  adequate  to  the  support 
and  order  of  Christian  states.  In  all  that  concerned  inward 
purity  of  heart,  and  every  avenue  that  might  lead  to  defile- 
ment, a  stricter  discipline  was  imposed  upon  the  Christian 
than  upon  the  Jew ;  but  in  all  that  concerned  the  use  of 
outward  forms  and  ceremonies,  the  Christian  was  released 
from  a  heavy  yoke  which  was  laid  upon  the  Jew.  So,  then, 
the  harsher  code  of  the  Jew  has  been  superseded  by  the 
milder  code  of  the  Christian.  Now,  as,  for  the  most  part,  it 
was  the  law  of  retaliation  which  measured  judgment  to  the 
Hebrew  transgressor,  and  justice  to  him  that  was  injured ; 
so  it  is,  for  the  most  part,  the  law  of  mercy  which  is  appointed 
to  administer  justice  between  Christians.  Beyond  this,  every 
act  of  undue  severity,  either  of  individuals  or  of  society, 
against  offenders,  is  a  violation  of  the  precepts  of  Christianity, 
and,  so  far,  an  act  of  injustice,  and  of  rebellion  against  its 
merciful  government,  whatever  excuses  may  be  made,  as  of 
expediency  and  necessity,  on  the  score  of  civil  order.  When 
the  professed  upholders  of  Christian  law  wilfully  transgress 
its  precepts,  on  the  presumption  that  these  are  too  weak  to 
bind  the  lawless,  they  themselves  give  to  the  world  a  most 
pernicious  example  of  practical  unbelief.  And  their  example 
is  not  lost ;  for  infidelity  openly  points  at  the  inconsistency, 
and  rails  at  these  benign  institutions  for  their  supposed 
inefficacy,  which  the  Christian  senator  has  not  the  courage 
to  act  upon  and  to  enforce,  though  he  is  ready  to  boast  of 
their  supreme  authority. 

Christ,  the  Divine  Lawgiver,  was  not  merely  satisfied  to 
have  the  conduct  exempt  from  the  guilt  of  any  gross  immo- 
rality ;  he  required  the  heart  also  to  be  free  from  stain. 
Hence  he  contrasted  those  capital  offences,  that  were  already 
denounced  in  the  Jewish  code,  with  the  first  buddings  of  un- 
lawful desire,  from  which  they  sprung  ;  and  therefore  struck 
at  the  root,  by  forbidding  even  the  least  appearance  of  evil 
in  the  heart  itself  to  be  encouraged.  The  Jewish  law  com- 
manded: Thou  shall  not  kUL  —  The  Christian:  Thou  shalt 


17 

not  even  be  angry  with  thy  brother.  The  Jewish  law  says : 
Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery.  — The  Christian:  Thou 
shalt  not  be  guilty  in  this  respect  even  so  far  as  thought  or 
desire.  The  Jewish  law  adjudges,  "  an  eye  for  an  eye,  and 
a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  —  The  Christian  enjoins,  that  men  shall 
not  resist  evil,  either  when  wronged  in  person  or  property  ; 
t.  e.  smitten  on  the  cheek  or  despoiled  of  a  garment.  The 
Jewish  law  commands :  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself. — 
The  Christian:  Swear  not  at  all;  but  let  your  affirmation 
and  negation  be  yea  and  nay.  And-  lastly,  the  Jewish  law 
permitted  men  to  hate  their  enemies  —  those  who  were  the 
enemies  of  God  and  Righteousness.  —  But  the  Christian 
says,  in  the  spirit  of  Peace  :  "  Love  your  enemies,"  —  adding, 
"  lor  if  ye  love  them  that  love  you,  what  reward  have  ye  ?  " 
For  Christians  should  be  in  spirit  bounteous  and  merciful  to 
the  whole  human  family,  like  the  Father  of  all,  "  who  sends 
his  rain  on  the  just  as  well  as  on  the  unjust." 

Now,  it  is  certain  that,  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same 
precepts,  in  which  Christ  laid  down  for  his  followers  a  stricter 
path  to  walk  in  than  Moses  had  appointed  for  the  Jews,  he 
relaxed  the  severity  of  penal  ordinances:  for,  while  he 
omitted  nothing  which  might  lead  the  obedient  disciples 
onward  to  perfection,  he  was  silent  upon  every  thing  that 
might  seem  to  warrant  the  exercise  of  severity  against  sin- 
ners ;  because  his  office  was  not  to  punish  sin  in  the  repentant 
sinner,  but  to  take  it  wholly  away  ;  and  even  when  the  woman 
convicted  of  a  capital  offence  was  brought  before  him  for 
judgment,  he  gave  a  memorable  lesson  to  modern  legislators  ; 
Let  him  that  is  ivithout  sin  cast  the  Jirst  stone.  If,  therefore, 
we  may  take  our  notions  of  justice  from  the  spirit  of  Christ's 
precepts,  it  has  nothing  vindictive  in  its  character :  vengeance 
belongs  only  to  "  the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead." 

Hence,  if  Christian  justice  be  the  rule  and  guide  of  human 
councils,  —  and  it  ought  to  be  so,  for  every  follower  of  Christ 
should  obey  his  precepts  and  cultivate  the  same  spirit,  —  it 
can  give  no  sanction  to  war  and  contention,  or  to  any  sort  of 
penal  retribution  from  man,  except  that  which  leads  to  the 
correction  of  vice  and  to  repentance.  Christian  justice,  being 
in  itself  complete,  and  the  very  perfection  of  moral  adminis- 
tration in  the  world,  is  in  all  respects  identified  with,  and 
cannot  be  separated  from,  Divine  justice.  There  is  no  human 
being,  nor  any  assemblage  of  human  beings,  professing 
Christianity,  who,  by  law  or  ordinance,  can  justly  authorize 
an  act  which  is  not  founded  on  the  principles  of  Christian 
justice.  These  principles,  being  merciful,  must  be  obeyed, 


18 

if  men  would  look  for  mercy  from  their  Maker,  however 
hard  the  necessity  of  the  case  may  seem  to  those  who  are 
injured. 

Now,  unless  the  rulers  of  Christian  states  can  prove  them- 
selves to  be  duly  commissioned  with  a  special  mandate  of  the 
Almighty,  to  execute  his  sovereign  will  against  transgressors, 
by  some  violent  penal  chastisement,  they  cannot  consistently 
plead  that  they  have  the  sanction  of  Christian  justice.  For, 
if  they  acknowledge  that  they  do  not  act  under  this  influence 
and  with  this  divine  authority,  any  other  justice,  to  which 
they  may  appeal  and  lay  claim,  whether  Jewish  or  heathen, 
will  neither  recommend  the  tribunal  by  which  it  is  adminis- 
tered, in  the  sight  of  men,  as  a  Christian  tribunal,  nor  will  it 
call  down  the  divine  blessing,  which  was  pronounced  by  the 
Savior  of  the  world  upon  the  merciful. 

We  have  an  example  of  Christian  jurisprudence  in  practi- 
cal operation,  in  the  early  history  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  it 
appears  that  the  constable's  staff  was  found  to  be  sufficient, 
both  to  command  the  respect  of  the  people,  and  to  enforce 
the  execution  of  the  criminal  laws,  without  sword  or  musket. 

This  argument,  therefore,  gives  no  countenance  to  the 
idea,  that  all  good  men  may  not  lawfully  cooperate  to  pre- 
serve peace  and  order,  and  to  restrain  the  violent,  as  they 
would  restrain  those  who  are  devoid  of  reason.  But  it  insists 
on  the  condition,  that,  in  so  doing,  they  carry  with  them 
neither  the  temper  nor  the  instruments  of  violence.  There 
is  not  in  the  universe  a  greater  coward  than  the  man,  who  is 
guilty  of  some  flagitious  crime,  and  sees  the  indignation  of 
the  good  on  all  sides  roused  against  him :  — "  The  wicked 
fleeth  when  no  man  pursueth."  And  there  is  not,  on  the 
contrary,  any  one  more  truly  bold  than  the  good  man,  who 
goes  forth  unarmed,  confiding  in  God  and  his  integrity, 
against  the  weapons  of  the  cruel: — "The  righteous  is  bold 
as  a  lion." 


PLEA    OF    NECESSITY. 

The  word  necessity,  when  applied  to  the  moral  conduct 
of  free  agents,  implies  nothing  more  than  duty,  and  in  the 
case  of  War,  it  involves  two  considerations :  First,  the  duty 
of  preserving  our  existence  ;  and  secondly,  obedience  to  moral 
or  divine  requisition. 

It  is  plain,  that,  in  all  cases  in  which  these  duties  may  seem 


19 

to  interfere,  the  former  must  yield  to  the  latter.  For, 
the  Christian  dispensation,  the  promise  or  assurance  of  j*rt- 
mortal  felicity  to  all  who  obey  the  divine  commands,  cuts  oft' 
the  justification  that  would  lean  upon  self-preservation  as  a 
paramount  duty ;  and  by  making  temporal  concerns  of  little 
account  in  the  scale,  whether  they  be  possessions,  privileges, 
rights,  or  the  endearments  of  kindred,  it  enhances  the  value 
of  the  eternal,  and  therefore  exacts  unconditional  submission 
to  the  divine  law.  If  these  principles  did  not  hold,  no  man 
would  ever  have  been  a  martyr  to  the  convictions  of  his  con- 
science. 

Necessity  cannot  surely  imply  that  when  life  appears  to 
be  in  danger,  every  other  consideration  is  to  be  set  aside  in 
order  to  preserve  it.  This  is  not  the  doctrine  of  Scripture  ; 
it  is  not  even  the  doctrine  of  heathen  philosophy. 

It  was  an  old  saying  among  those  who  were  but  partially 
enlightened  respecting  a  future  state,  Fiat  justitia,  mat  C<K- 
lum  :  —  Let  man  do  his  duty,  whatever  extremity  may  happen  ; 
and  it  was  consistently  held  that,  in  some  cases,  when  pressed 
by  violence,  men  ought  rather  to  surrender  their  Jives,  than 
submit  to  any  act  of  turpitude  or  ignominy,  for  the  sake  of 
prolonging  their  existence.  So,  then,  the  preservation  of  life 
was  not  to  be  regarded  as  the  only  end  and  object  of  rational 
beings.  For  virtue  required  that  life  itself  should  be  under- 
valued, when  placed  in  competition  with  duty  and  true  honor. 
If  a  man  were  reduced  to  the  supposed  necessity  of  telling  a 
falsehood  to  save  his  life,  would  he  be  justified  in  violating 
the  truth,  when  he  felt  persuaded  that  there  is  a  God  in  heaven 
to  reward  the  upright?  If  he  were  reduced  to  the  supposed 
necessity  of  killing  another  to  save  himself,  would  he  be  justi- 
fied in  breaking  the  Christian  injunction,  "not  to  resist  evil," 
when  he  entertained  a  religious  confidence  that  mercy  would 
hereafter  be  extended  to  all  that  show  mercy  ? 

But  it  might  happen,  as  it  often  has  happened,  that  the 
necessity  of  violent  resistance  might  not  be  real,  and  that,  in 
the  very  crisis  of  alarm,  by  some  unforeseen  incident,  life 
might  be  preserved  with  honor.  How  lamentable,  then,  must 
be  the  reflection  to  a  Christian,  that,  by  yielding  to  revenge, 
he  had  cut  off  a  fellow-creature  in  the  midst  of  his  crimes, 
who,  by  a  little  kindness  and  persuasion  from  an  enemy, 
might  have  been  made  a  friend,  and  who,  by  means  of  salu- 
tary discipline,  might  have  been  turned  from  a  course  of 
wickedness  to  a  state  of  acceptance  with  his  Maker ! 

The  argument  which  supports  the  necessity  of  force  being 
opposed  to  force,  assumes  that,  nations  or  individuals  being 


so 

threatened,  and  life,  or  liberty,  or  property,  being  in 
consequence  endangered,  arms  must  be  resorted  to  for  the 
purpose  of  affording  protection :  therefore,  that  those  who 
meditate  or  offer  violence,  are  to  be  resisted  with  violence, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  and,  if  possible,  put  to  death. 

JNow,  who  is  competent  to  judge  of  the  necessity  and  the 
danger,  supposing  the  plea  to  be  admitted  ?  Is  he  who  is 
impelled  by  fear  or  anger?  or  the  sensitive  politician  who 
weaves  his  web  at  every  court,  and  is  tremblingly  alive 
to  each  of  its  vibrations?  or  is  the  weaker  state,  when 
threatened  by  the  stronger,  the  more  competent  judge  ? 

There  is  no  one,  surely,  more  unfit  for  judging  dispassion- 
ately of  what  is  right  to  be  done  in  cases  of  imminent  peril, 
than  the  fearful.  Fear  pictures  imaginary  dangers.  It 
excludes  all  reliance  upon  Providence.  It  therefore  moves 
the  mind  from  the  settled  resting-piace  of  fortitude,  in  which 
it  is  best  prepared  to  meet  and  to  overcome  danger  by  moral 
intrepidity.  Hence  fear  ought  not  to  govern  a  rational 
being  in  the  midst  of  peril,  either  as  a  motive  or  a  guide. 
What  has  the  man  of  integrity  to  fear  ? 

With  respect  to  the  quick  and  headlong  impulse  of  anger, 
he  that  seeks  to  attain  any  rational  end,  while  under  its 
influence,  instead  of  waiting  for  a  calm,  "  puts  to  sea  in  the 
violence  of  a  storm."  As  the  instinctive  principles  which 
comprehend  the  appetites  and  desires  must  be  restrained,  so 
nothing  is  more  true  than  that  moral  and  intellectual  beings 
are  not  to  suffer  the  animal  principle  of  resentment  to  hurry 
them,  indiscriminately,  and  without  deliberation,  into  action. 

If  it  be  said  that,  in  well-disciplined  armies,  the  impulse  is 
neither  that  of  fear  nor  anger,  but  that  of  military  duty,  and 
therefore  to  them  these  strictures  do  not  apply ;  we  admit 
the  objection  so  far  as  it  refers  to  armies  as  instruments. 
But  the  case  is  widely  different  with  those  who  make  use  of 
them.  The  soldier,  being  reduced,  by  a  voluntary  act,  to 
the  state  of  passive  obedience,  makes  a  conscience  of 
submitting  his  will  in  every  thing  to  that  of  his  superior ; 
whether  he  be  commanded  to  shoot  his  fellow-soldier,  or  to 
destroy  his  enemy  and  burn  his  habitation,  or  to  seize  the 
property  of  his  countrymen,  or  to  expose  his  own  life  to 
certain  destruction :  and  if  he  conscientiously  believes  this 
duty  to  be  paramount,  far  be  it  from  us  to  condemn  him. 
We  have  not  to  do  with  the  different  degrees  of  light  in  the 
minds  of  men,  but  with  the  light  of  Scripture  —  the  clear 
and  explicit  commands  of  Christ.  When  it  can  be  proved 
from  these,  that  a  man  may  resist  evil,  may  pursue  Hs 


21 

revenge  with  the  sword,  may  hate  his  enemy  and  take  away  hut 
life,  then  we  will  give  up  the  argument.  But  we  think 
there  would  be  more  honesty  in  avoAving  that  the  yoke  of 
Christian  discipline  is  too  hard  for  us  to  bear,  than  in 
attempting  to  reconcile  the  duty  of  forbearance  with 
revenge,  the  love  of  our  enemies  with  their  destruction,  and 
the  peaceful  character  with  the  warlike. 

Trie  Christian  law  has  respect  to  the  highest  degree  of 
human  excellence:  it  admits  no  inferior  standard  of  virtue: 
it  will  have  men  to  be  Christians  in  deed  and  in  truth.  It 
does  not  insist  upon  precise  conformity  in  some,  and  allow 
partial  conformity  in  others,  merely  because  the  latter 
choose  a  path  for  themselves  not  quite  so  straight.  There  is 
but  one  pattern  of  excellence  proposed  to  all  for  imitation. 
All  may  fall  short  in  degree :  but  no  man  is  allowed  to 
content  himself  with  a  relaxed  discipline,  or  to  fix  any 
inferior  rule.  If  so,  the  rule  might  vary  in  every  community  ; 
and  at  last  the  conqueror  might  be  esteemed  more  noble 
than  the  martyr;  and  the  warlike'  Mahomet  be  set  upas  a 
more  worthy  example  for  men  to  follow  than  the  peaceful 
Messiah. 

Whatever  allowance,  therefore,  may  be  made  in  the  case 
of  the  hired  soldier,  to  those  at  the  helm  of  Christian  states, 
as  lawgivers  and  counsellors,  who  send  him  upon  his 
commission,  and  give  the  impulse  to  his  movements,  the 
same  indulgence  cannot,  upon  Christian  principles,  be 
extended.  Whether  these  may  call  it  honor  or  national 
independence,  for  which  they  have  recourse  to  arms,  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  the  real  motives  for  organizing 
armies  arise  from  fear,  jealousy,  or  resentment. 

Now,  these  are  motives  which  ought  not  to  enter  into  the 
mind  of  a  Christian,  much  less  to  influence  his  conduct. 
With  respect,  indeed,  to  resentment,  it  would  be  more 
creditable,  at  least  to  humanity,  that  men  should  go  forward 
to  the  work  of  death  under  this  animal  influence,  —  because 
brute  passion  extinguishes  for  the  time  what  is  generous 
and  amiable,  —  than  under  the  factitious  and  delusive 
influence  of  any  other  principle  which  has  acquired  a 
specious  name  among  men,  and  which  seems  to  permit  the 
growth  of  good  and  evil  together,  —  one  of  the  most 
dangerous  kinds  of  union,  because  they  are  then  so  apt  to 
be  confounded,  —  such  as  honor,  glory,  and  love  of  country. 
Human  nature,  the  more  it  is  refined  and  enlightened,  the 
more  it  ought  to  possess  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness,  and 
the  less  of  a  thirst  for  blood.  True  honor,  true  glory,  true 


love  of  country,  if  the  terms  were  rightly  understood,  would 
effectually  restrain  the  inhabitants  of  any  nation,  who  knew 
their  real  interests,  from  engaging  in  conflicts  that  must 
tend  unavoidably  to  demoralize  their  countrymen,  to  waste 
their  strength  and  resources,  and  to  subject  themselves  to 
reprisals  from  their  enemies.  But  honor,  glory,  and  love 
of  country,  by  means  of  capricious  and  false  associations, 
which  artfully  cover  a  deformity  that  could  not  be  endured 
if  the  vail  were  removed,  have  long  been  prostituted  to  ends 
alike  derogatory  to  reason,  and  abhorrent  from  the  meek 
spirit  of  Christianity,  and  cannot,  therefore,  in  any  way,  be 
supposed  to  exalt  the  dignity  of  human  nature.  If  military 
glory  could  have  this  effect,  the  world  ought  to  be  used  as  a 
great  arena,  on  which  contending  armies  should  be  perpetually 
struggling  for  the  support  and  exercise  of  the  military 
virtues ;  and  not  be  (as  Christians  profess  it  should  be)  a 
theatre  for  the  display  of  benevolence,  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge,  the  propagation  of  truth,  the  improvement  and 
happiness  of  the  human  race,  and  the  universal  spread 
of  peace  and  righteousness. 

Some  of  the  cases  of  presumed  necessity,  which  have 
been  urged  by  politicians,  for  embroiling  two  nations  in  war, 
are  almost  calculated  to  excite  a  smile  —  if  it  were  possible 
to  excite  a  smile  on  such  a  subject.  The  reasons  have  been 
so  puerile,  and  the  causes  of  difference  so  easy  to  have  been 
removed  by  a  little  mutual  concession,  that  it  is  marvellous 
that 'any  stress  should  have  been  laid  on  such  pretended 
justifications;  for  these  are  seen  by  the  dispassionate 
observers  at  a  distance,  in  their  true  light,  as  unworthy  of 
the  least  consideration,  in  the  scale  of  humanity  and  true 
national  glory.  The  sensitive  jealousy  of  politicians  towards 
rival  nations  is  always  rankling  as  in  a  state  of  feverish 
excitement.  To  them,  "  trifles  light  as  air "  are  strong 
confirmations  of  intended  coolness  and  hostility.  They 
raise  the  phantom,  and  they  pursue  it.  Hence  a  political 
necessity  for  war  has  been  urged,  on  account  of  an  obsolete 
claim  of  some  insignificant  portion  of  territory,  or  an  alleged 
insult  offered  to  a  flag  or  an  ambassador,  or  a  breach  of 
some  state  punctilio,  or  the  exclusive  monopoly  of  some 
article  of  commerce,  or  some  private  pique  between  rulers  or 
ministers,  or  the  fancied  undue  preponderance  in  the  scale 
of  balanced  power,  or  some  other  of  the  many  bubbles 
blown  by  secret  ambition,  and  constantly  floating  in  the 
fluctuating  element  of  diplomatic  intrigue.  It  is  manifest 
that  every  one  of  these  causes  could  really  have  no  more  to 


do  with  necessity  than  the  appearance  of  a  comet;  which,  in 
times  of  superstition,  it  was  imagined,  did  exert  some 
necessary  influence  in  producing  war. 

"  The  comet  from  its  flaming  hair 

Shakes  down  diseases,  pestilence,  and  war." 

Pope's  Homer. 

When  a  weak  state  is  menaced  by  one  that  is  powerful, 
there  is,  vrima  facie,  a  strong  justification  for  taking  up  arms 
to  defend  what  are  called  its  Rights.  The  cause  is  supposed 
to  be  one  which  Heaven  must  approve.  The  love  of  liberty, 
natural  to  man,  awakes  enthusiasm;  the  God  of  justice  is 
invoked  in  aid  of  the  enterprise;  and,  as  if  to  encourage 
and  embolden,  the  secret  prayers  of  the  friends  of  civil 
liberty  in  all  countries,  who  look  at  the  object  without  regarding 
the  means,  are  put  up  for  its  success.  And  what  are  the 
usual  consequences?  As  if  the  Almighty  Controller  of 
human  events  designed  to  show  his  creature  man,  that,  in 
this  age  of  the  world,  it  is  not  by  savage  contention  that  the 
ends  of  his  sovereign  justice  should  be  attained  in  the  earth, 
the  weak  state  is  overthrown;  wickedness  is  triumphant; 
thousands  perhaps  are  slain  ;  and  the  remainder  reduced  to  a 
condition  far  more  abject  and  degraded  than  if  they  had 
submitted  peaceably  to  the  aggression,  with  no  other 
appearance  of  resistance  than  that  moral  sting  which  an 
unoffending  and  peaceable  state  throws  against  its  adver- 
sary, when  it  protests,  firmly  and  energetically,  with  reason 
and  justice  on  its  side,  against  wanton  and  unprincipled 
aggression.  In  so  hard  a  case  as  the  latter,  as  human 
nature  is  constituted,  the  very  agents  would  be  ashamed 
of  the  commission  they  had  undertaken ;  and  they  would  be 
disposed,  as  far  as  lay  in  their  power,  to  lessen  the  weight 
of  oppression  upon  the  innocent,  instead  of  adding  to  the 
burden. 

Of  all  the  reasonings  in  favor  of  the  use  of  arms,  there  is 
none  which  comes  home  more  closely  to  flesh  and  blood,  or 
is  more  triumphantly  urged  against  the  disciple  of  peace, 
than  that  which  supposes  the  circumstance  of  a  civil  war, 
and  of  a  murderer  at  our  own  houses.  In  civil  wars,  it  is 
well  known  that  violence,  as  in  the  contentions  of  kindred, 
rages  with  unnatural  fury ;  for  men  will  bear  oppression 
from  strangers  better  than  from  their  own  countrymen ;  so 
that  he  who  professes  to  be  neutral,  instead  of  being 
regarded  as  a  friend,  is  commonly  looked  upon  as  an  enemy 
by  both  parties. 


24 

And,  when  the  peace  of  a  family  circle  is  invaded,  and 
instant  destruction  seems  to  be  impending1  over  our  dearest 
connections,  all  that  is  human  within  us  is  roused  by  the 
argument  in  question,  to  justify  the  immediate  attempt  to 
destroy  the  guilty  for  the  purpose  of  defending  the  innocent. 

Abstractedly  viewing  the  two  cases,  there  could  scarcely 
be  a  difference  of  opinion  respecting  the  course  a  man 
of  common  worldly  prudence  would  adopt. 

In  the  one  case,  he  would  connect  himself  with  one  side 
or  the  other,  as  well  to  secure  his  safety  as  to  fulfil  what  he 
might  consider  a  point  of  duty.  In  the  other,  he  would 
obey  the  impulse  of  his  sensitive  nature,  and  would  pursue 
the  first  bent  of  his  mind,  not  only  in  resisting  the  meditated 
wrong,  but.  in  taking  away  the  life  of  his  opponent.  With 
those  to  whom  this  world  is  every  thing,  and  father,  mother, 
wife,  children,  friends,  riches,  possessions,  privileges,  and 
life,  are  dearer  than  the  cross  of  Christ,  with  the  promises 
of  a  blessed  immortality  annexed,  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  it 
would  be  nugatory  to  argue  in  this  matter.  But  with  any 
who  place  their  hopes  in  heaven,  and  their  reliance  upon 
Providence,  and  who  would  rather  surrender  the  object  most 
dear  to  them  than  violate  the  least  of  the  commands  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace,  a  momentary  inquiry  at  least  might  be 
admitted:  — 

Will  Heaven  indeed  permit  the  arm  of  violence  to  rob  me, 
when  obeying  the  commands  of  Christ,  of  my  friends  or 
property,  and  perhaps  my  life?  And  shall  I  obey  his 
commands  by  pursuing  my  enemy  even  to  death  ?  by  hurrying 
an  assassin  to  the  grave  in  the  midst  of  his  crime,  who  may 
possibly  become  my  friend,  and  sincerely  repent  of  his 
wicked  design  ?  Shall  I  resist  the  violent  on  his  own 
ground,  with  his  own  weapons,  and  on  his  own  principles  — 
those  of  violence  ?  If  I  do,  how  then  is  the  standard 
of  peace  to  be  supported  in  the  world  ?  How  is  the  example 
of  Christ  himself  imitated  and  recommended  to  others  by 
such  conduct? 

•If  the  first  impulse  is  right,  and  must  be  obeyed,  these 
questions  are  not  appropriate ;  but  if  these  questions  strike 
the  sincere  Christian  with  any  weight,  and  cannot  be  answered 
without  serious  misgivings,  it  is  most  probable  that  the  first 
impulse  is  wrong,  or,  at  least,  that  it  is  to  be  restrained  by  a 
higher  principle. 

After  all,  therefore,  that  can  be  said  on  either  side,  we 
must  at  last  come  to  this  question:  whether  the  Lord's 
devoted  followers,  the  peacemakers  on  whom  Christ 


25 

pronounced  his  blessing,  (not  Christians  by  name  and 
tradition  only  —  not  those  who  would  cement  the  interests 
of  two  worlds  together  which  are  incompatible,)  are  to 
rely  upon  Divine  Providence  in  their  extremity,  or  on  the 
use  of  means  which  seem  directly  to  involve  a  breach  of  the 
laws  of  Christ,  and  to  foster  the  indulgence  of  propensities 
entirely  opposed  to  the  enlargement  of  his  peaceful  kingdom. 
It  is  impossible  to  argue  the  case  upon  Christian  principles, 
without  distinct  reference  to  the  immediate  care  of  Providence ; 
for,  unless  this  be  taken  for  granted,  all  human  reasoning  is 
against  the  principles  we  defend.  If  this  be  admitted,  with 
those  proper  limitations  which  man's  free  agency  requires, 
the  cause  of  truth,  and  innocence,  and  justice,  must  be  the 
cause  of  God  himself,  and  defensible  only  by  moral  weapons. 
He  that  proceeds  to  violence  in  the  support  of  moral  order, 
usurps  the  sceptre  of  the  Sovereign  Ruler,  and  employs  the 
thunder,  and  the  earthquake,  and  the  flood,  and  the  lightning, 
against  his  fellow-creature.  But  there  is  this  essential 
difference:  in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty,  the  elemental 
conflict  is  succeeded  by  a  state  of  calm,  and  it  contributes 
to  some  good  natural  design,  bringing  things  into  harmony ; 
whereas,^  in  the  hands  of  man,  when  he  attempts  to  wield 
the  instruments  of  vengeance  —  in  other  words,  of  physical 
power  —  against  his  enemy,  whatever  calm  may  ensue,  it  is 
not  the  quiet  of  harmony,  but  of  smothered  hate,  ready,  on 
the  first  slight  occasion,  to  burst  into  fury.  In  the  one  case, 
there  is  only  a  deformity  of  the  natural  world,  which  is 
slight  and  transient,  and  salutary  in  its  effects  ;  in  the  other, 
a  state  of  moral  disorder,  which  the  conflict  does  not 
terminate,  but  aggravates  by  producing  heart-burnings  and 
misery,  and  various  forms  of  moral  evil.  For  it  must  be 
confessed,  that  war  puts  in  operation  a  more  demoralizing, 
inhuman,  and  unchristian  machinery,  than  was  ever  devised 
by  the  perverted  ingenuity  of  man.  Its  causes  and  its 
effects  go  hand  in  hand,  and,  like  the  tree  and  its  fruits, 
betray  their  near  affinity.  On  one  side,  we  may  see  the  lust 
of  dominion  and  of  military  fame,  with  its  aspiring  notions ; 
on  the  other,  fear  and  revenge,  with  its  low,  degrading 
passions,  all  alike  antichristian,  entering  into  the  motives. 

As  to  the  effects,  we  shall  scarcely  err  in  affirming,  that 
few  conquerors  ever  yet  returned  from  battle,  without  some 
secret  stings  of  conscience ;  nor  armies,  without  more  or  less 
moral  corruption ;  nor  has  any  nation  ever  withdrawn  itself 
from  a  contest  without  paying  a  severe  and  bloody  price  for 
all  its  victories.  Cicero  would  not  have  declared  that  he 


26 

preferred  the  most  unjust  and  disadvantageous  peace  to  the 
justestwar — "  Iniquissimam  pacemjustissimo  belloantefero" 
—  if  his  experience  had  not  proved  this  to  be  the  case.  It 
cannot  be  doubted  that  he  deduced  this  conclusion  from  facts 
more  than  from  theory.  And  Tacitus,  another  enlightened 
Roman,  takes  it  for  granted  as  a  thing  in  itself  obvious, — 
that  it  was  infinitely  better  for  a  nation  to  cultivate  peace  than 
to  perplex  itself  ivith  war  —  "Q,uis  ignorat  satius  ac  melius 
esse  pace  frui  quam  bello  vexari?"  It  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  heathen  statesmen  would  have  established  principles 
like  these  in  direct  opposition  to  fact  and  expediency.  How 
strong,  then,  must  be  the  ground  taken  by  the  Christian 
statesman,  in  advocating  peace,  when  he  finds  that  the 
principles  of  that  religion  which  was  sent  to  lead  human 
nature  to  its  highest  perfection,  confirm  the  practical 
conclusions  of  the  wise  heathen !  No  man  can  be  so  bold 
as  to  argue  that  any  one  of  the  precepts  of  Christ,  or  any 
part  of  his  conduct,  can  be  construed  into  a  direct  or 
indirect  vindication  of  war.  On  the  other  hand,  the  positive 
injunctions  to  maintain  peace,  and  to  subdue  the  elements 
of  war,  are  numerous  and  unequivocal.  And  the  same  thing 
may  be  said  of  the  Apostles,  with  the  casual  exception 
of  Peter,  who  met  with  a  signal  reproof  at  the  time,  strong 
enough  to  establish  the  law  of  peace  forever:  "Put  up  thy 
sword  into  the  sheath :  for  all  they  that  take  the  sword  shall 
perisli  with  the  sword." 

It  has  therefore  been  discovered  by  experience,  (and 
experience  is  in  unison  with  the  pure  doctrines  of  Christianity,) 
that  there  are  principles  of  human  conduct  —  principles 
opposed  to  brute  violence  in  all  its  forms  —  whose  operation 
is  so  powerful,  that,  while  they  prove  a  support  to  the 
innocent,  by  turning  them  to  an  Almighty  Protector,  they 
soften  the  fury  of  their  oppressors,  and  frequently  change  it 
into  admiration ;  so  that  these  oppressors  cannot  but  observe 
the  contrast  between  the  self-protecting  armor  of  piety  and 
the  desolating  instruments  of  cruelty. 

It  is  a  fact  of  not  unfrequent  occurrence,  that,  when 
things  have  been  brought  to  the  most  critical  juncture,  and, 
according  to  human  apprehension,  death  or  bondage  has 
been  inevitable,  those  who  have  been  enabled  to  trust  with 
meekness  in  Divine  help,  have  experienced  wonderful 
preservation.  And,  on  the  contrary,  how  many  examples 
are  there  of  those  who  have  resisted  violence  by  violence, 
falling  victims !  So  that  active  resistance,  it  would  appear, 
'often  defeats  its  end;  while  non-resistance,  accompanied 


27 

with  suitable  dispositions,  has  the  immediate  effect  of 
disarming  ferocity,  and  suspending*  the  meditated  blow.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  look  far  into  human  nature  to  explain 
the  theory  of  these  moral  phenomena.  But  it  is  time  that 
Christian  statesmen  should  know,  and  that  they  should  act 
upon  the  conviction,  that  the  system  of  Christianity  contains 
the  profoundest  principles  of  philosophy,  as  well  as  of 
Divine  truth;  and  that,  so  far  from  being  visionary  in  their 
application,  these  principles  are  of  the  highest  practical 
utility,  at  all  times,  and  under  all  circumstances :  and  happy 
are  they  who  have  faith  to  put  them  in  practice,  whether  as 
individuals  or  as  nations. 


The  preceding  observations  are  made  with  a  view  to 
prepare  the  reader's  mind  for  the  following  narrative,  and  to 
illustrate  the  nature  and  operation  of  the  principles  of 
Peace ;  and  the  events  are  recorded  for  the  purpose  of 
showing,  by  well-authenticated  facts,  how  a  Christian  So- 
ciety, professing  and  acting  upon  these  principles, conducted 
itself  in  the  afflicting  crisis  of  civil  warfare ;  when  many 
individuals  and  families  of  this  Society,  from  time  to  time, 
found  themselves  at  the  mercy,  and,  at  least  outwardly,  in 
the  power,  of  some  of  the  most  undisciplined  of  their 
fellow-creatures. 

It  is  supposed  that  facts  will  have  greater  influence  in 
convincing  the  judgment,  than  reasonings,  however  clear,  or 
precepts,  however  highly  sanctioned. 

The  first  class  of  incidents  about  to  be  recorded,  relates 
to  the  peculiar  trials  experienced  by  some  members  of  the 
Society,  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  the  principal  theatre  of 
contention  in  the  South,  in  consequence  of  their  determination 
to  take  no  part  in  war,  as  well  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  preserved.  The  next  relates  to  the  threats  and 
dangers  to  which  they  were  subjected,  for  the  firmness  and 
faithfulness  with  which  they  endeavored  to  discharge  the 
important  duty  of  religious  worship,  and  to  the  way  in  which 
these  threats  were  defeated.  A  third  class,  to  which  the 
reader's  attention  will  be  directed,  refers  to  the  trials, 
connected  in  some  degree  with  the  last,  arising  from  the 
refusal  of  many  individuals  to  conform  to  the  ceremonies 
of  the  Romish  church,  which  exposed  them,  in  the  circle 
of  their  families,  as  well  as  abroad,  to  the  danger  of  instant 
death.  And  the  fourth  class  will  embrace  a  more  compre- 


28 

hensive  range  of  incident  relating  to  the  Society,  in  other 
parts  of  the  country  which  Avere  the  scenes  of  commotion. 

In  every  place,  it  will  appear  that  the   same   principles 
of  conduct  produced  effects  of  a  similar  description. 


CHAPTER  II. 

State  of  the  Society  of  Friends^  previous  to,  and  during  the 
Rebellion. 

IT  is  generally  known,  that  an  objection  to  take  part  in 
War,  in  any  shape,  forms  one  of  the  tenets  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  commonly  called  Quakers.  This  objection  is 
purely  religious,  and  is  founded  upon  what  they  conceive  to 
be  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  dispensation,  as  it  is  illustrated  in 
the  nrecepts  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  and  exemplified  in 
their  practice.  They  consider  that  it  must  follow  as  a 
necessary  consequence,  that  a  religion  breathing  peace  and 
good- will  to  men,  cannot,  in  any  case,  be  supported  by  the 
spirit  of  War.  They  believe  that,  on  the  contrary,  the 
practice  of  this  evil  among  the  professors  of  Christianity 
has  tended,  more  than  any  other  circumstance,  to  prevent  its 
propagation  in  the  world,  to  tarnish  its  excellency  in  the  eyes 
of  Jews  and  Pagans,  and  to  confirm  their  speculative  and 
practical  errors.  As  it  was  not  by  the  secular  arm,  but  in 
direct  opposition  to  the  sword,  that  it  insinuated  itself  into 
the  minds  of  men,  and  was  first  promulgated ;  so  they 
believe,  that  its  final  establishment  in  the  nations  of  the 
earth  will  be  effected  through  the  medium  of  the  softening 
influence  of  its  pacific  spirit,  and  by  the  glorious  example 
of  peace  and  concord  among  its  followers. 

In  the  year  1798,  the  state  of  Ireland  afforded  a  striking 
occasion  to  the  members  of  this  Society,  who  are  scattered 
abroid  in  different  parts  of  that  kingdom,  to  put  the  efficacy 
of  their  peaceful  principles  to  the  test.  It  is,  however,  to  be 
presumed,  th  it,  even  if  outward  preservation  had  not  been 
experienced,  they  who  conscientiously  take  the  maxims  of 
Pe  ice  for  the  rule  of  their  conduct,  would  hold  it  not  less 
their  duty  to  conform  to  these  principles;  because  the  reward 
of  such  as  endeavor  to  act  in  obedience  to  their  Divine 


29 

Master's  will,  is  not  always  to  be  looked  for  in  the  present 
life.  While,  therefore,  the  fact  of  their  outward  preservation 
would  be  no  sufficient  argument  to  themselves  that  they  had 
acted  as  they  ought  to  act  in  such  a  crisis,  it  affords  a  striking 
lesson  to  those  who  will  take  no  principle,  that  has  not  been 
verified  by  experience,  for  a  rule  of  human  conduct,  even  if 
it  should  hive  the  sanction  of  Divine  authority. 

When  a  kingdom  is  divided  in  itself,  it  is  difficult  for  any 
to  remain  neutral.  Either  the  passions  of  human  nature,  by 
the  influence  of  many  private  and  public  bonds,  will  be 
pressed  to  a  near  union  with  one  of  the  contending  parties, 
or  the  Christian  principle  of  universal  charity  must  operate, 
uniformly  and  powerfully,  in  maintaining  a  dignified  and 
amicable  relation  with  all.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to 
subdue  the  natural  propensity  which  we  feel  to  imbibe  the 
fears,  hopes,  wishes,  and  prejudices,  of  our  neighbor,  to  bear 
his  reproach  for  our  seeming  apathy,  and  in  this  way  to  clear 
the  avenue  of  the  mind  from  the  seeds  of  contention,  that  in 
reality,  as  well  as  by  profession,  we  may  be  followers  of 
Peace. 

Whatever  secret  and  slowly-operating  causes  might  have 
conspired  to  produce  the  Rebellion  of  1798,  it  is  certain  that 
different  objects  were  proposed  by  two  great  classes  of  the 
insurgents.  By  some,  civil  liberty  —  a  specious  pretence,  in 
all  ages,  to  the  warm  and  enterprising,  —  by  others,  uniformity 
in  religious  faith  —  an  imposing  object  to  the  dark  and 
bigoted,  were  held  up  as  justifiable  reasons  for  erecting  the 
standard  of  sedition,  and  plunging  their  native  country  into 
the  horrors  of  a  civil  war.  The  members  of  a  Society  which 
neither  united  with  the  political  nor  the  religious  views  of 
these  factious  bands,  might  naturally  be  looked  upon  with 
suspicion  by  both ;  at  least,  they  were  not  likely  to  be 
considered  as  friends;  and,  as  a  part  of  the  community, 
which  did  not  exert  itself  actively  in  aiding  the  power  it  was 
bound,  in  all  cases  of  purely  civil  obligation,  to  obey,  in 
order  to  suppress  a  rebellion,  the  motives  and  objects  of 
which  it  could  not  possibly  approve,  the  Society,  in  its  relation 
to  the  government,  seemed  to  manifest*but  a  spurious  loyalty. 
It  was,  in  fact,  openly  charged,  not  only  with  a  dereliction 
of  its  civil  duties,  but  with  a  tacit  relhnce  upon  its  neighbors, 
to  step  forward  in  the  defence  of  rights  and  privileges,  in 
which  it  was  as  much  interested  as  others.  Hence,  whatever 
forbearance  the  government  itself  was  disposed  to  exercise 
towards  the  Society,  the  professed  loyalists,  as  they  were 
termed,  regarded  its  members  in  no  more  favorable  light  than 
3* 


30 

as  drones,  unwilling  to  work,  and  ready  to  feed  upon  the 
honey  supplied  by  the  industrious  bees.  Whether  some 
individuals,  who,  having  the  name,  were  but  little  bound  to 
the  principles  of  the  Society,  might  not  have  deserved  this 
imputation,  is  not  a  matter  of  much  moment.  For,  were  the 
question  to  be  decided  in  the  affirmative,  the  censure  could 
neither  lessen  the  value  of  the  principles  themselves,  nor 
affect  the  general  character  of  the  body,  in  its  conscientious 
support  of  these  principles. 

These  were  a  few  of  the  critical  circumstances  in  which 
the  Society  of  Friends  was  placed  at  this  period,  when 
private  individuals  belonging  to  it  were  engaged  to  lift  up 
the  standard  of  peace  to  their  contending  countrymen,  and, 
with  few  exceptions,  enabled  to  preserve  a  remarkable 
consistency  on  this  memorable  occasion.  Many  of  these 
were  separated  at  a  considerable  distance  from  each  other, 
very  often  without  an  earthly  counsellor  to  flee  to,  and 
therefore  deprived  of  any  other  refuge  than  the  light  and  law 
of  God  in  their  own  hearts. 

Long  before  the  rising,  a  spirit  of  contention  was  working 
in  the  minds  of  the  people ;  opposed  factions  were  increasing 
their  numbers,  and  marking  out  friends  and  foes ;  in  the 
silence  and  gloomy  reserve  which  characterized  the  multitude, 
a  storm  was  seen  to  be  gathering ;  and  it  appeared  obvious, 
that,  as  deep-seated  animosity  was  concentrating  its  forces 
on  either  side,  nothing  short  of  a  dreadful  conflict  could 
extinguish  their  mutual  hatred  in  mutual  slaughter.  If  the 
members  of  the  Society  in  question  did  not  anticipate  this 
calamity,  they  seem,  at  least,  to  have  wisely  taken  some 
precautions  against  it  One  of  the  means  adopted  by  the 
insurgents,  in  the  first  place,  to  prepare  for  the  struggle,  and 
by  the  constituted  authorities,  in  the  next,  to  defeat  their 
purpose,  was  the  robbery  and  the  search  for  arms  in  private 
houses.  So  early  as  the  year  1796,  and  in  one  particular 
province  in  1795;  the  Quarterly  Meetings  of  the  Society 
were  induced  to  recommend  to  all  their  members,  through 
the  medium  of  Monthly  Meetings,  that  those  individuals  who 
had  guns  or  other  weapons  in  their  houses  should  destroy 
them;  and  the  General  or  National  Meeting  of  1796 
confirmed  this  recommendation,  in  order,  as  the  document 
states,  "  to  prevent  their  being  made  use  of  to  the  destruction 
of  any  of  our  fellow-creatures,  —  and  more  fully  and  clearly 
to  support  our  peaceable  and  Christian  testimony  in  these 
perilous  times." 

Committees    were    appointed    by    the    several    Monthly 


31 

Meetings  throughout  the  Society,  to  go  round  to  the  different 
members  for  this  purpose;  and  it  appears  that,  in  most 
families,  these  committees  had  little  more  to  do  than  to 
communicate  their  business,  some  having  previously  destroyed 
all  such  instruments,  and  others  giving  full  expectation  of 
their  intention  immediately  to  comply  with  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  superior  meetings,  whilst  a  few,  who  could  not  be 
prevailed  upon  to  make  this  sacrifice,  were  found  to  have 
been  generally  inconsistent  in  their  conduct  in  other  respects, 
so  that  they  soon  incurred  the  censure  of  the  Society,  and 
suffered  disownment.  It  was  certified  that,  upon  the  whole, 
the  labors  of  the  members  to  carry  this  wholesome  advice 
into  effect  were  attended  with  a  considerable  degree  of 
success. 

It  is  related  by  an  individual  who  resided  at  Ferns,  in  the 
county  of  Wexford,  that,  beiri^  appointed  on  one  of  these 
committees,  he  saw  the  necessity  of  first  cleansing  his  own 
hands ;  and  he  took  a  fowling-piece  which  he  had,  and  broke 
it  in  pieces  in  the  street  opposite  to  his  own  house ;  an 
example  of  fidelity  to  his  principles,  and  a  spectacle  of 
wonder  to  his  neighbors. 

A  little  after  this,  when  the  government  ordered  all  arms 
to  be  given  up  to  the  magistrates,  it  was  a  source  of 
satisfaction  to  many,  that,  in  a  general  way,  the  members 
of  the  Society  were  found  to  be  without  any  such  thing  in 
their  possession. 

On  this  head,  a  circumstance,  relating  to  the  Friend  above 
alluded  to,  deserves  to  be  noticed ;  as  it  shows  at  once  the 
uncertainty  of  life,  and  the  weakness  of  human  dependency. 
But,  in  stating  this  fact,  or  others  of  a  similar  nature,  the 
author  hopes  none  of  his  readers  will  imagine  that  he  is 
anxious  to  hold  up  such  events  to  view,  as  in  the  light  of 
judgments  upon  those  who  did  not  see  the  religious  necessity 
of  abstaining  from  war.  Many  well-disposed  persons,  of 
different  denominations,  he  has  no  doubt,  were  permitted  to 
be  cut  off  bjr  the  arm  of  violence,  during  the  time  of  the 
Rebellion,  in  mercy,  and  not  in  judgment  It  is  the  object 
of  this  publication  to  record  simply  the  facts :  it  is  not  for  the 
author  to  judge  any  of  his  fellow-creatures. 

Some  of  the  neighboring  magistrates,  with  the  clergyman 
of  the  parish,  came  to  his  house,  and,  the  Friend  Ibeing 
absent,  expostulated  with  his  wife  on  the  supposed  impropriety 
of  his  having  destroyed  his  gun,  instead  of  giving  it  up  to 
the  government,  for  the  alleged  purpose  of  defending  the 
loyalists  against  the  fomenters  arid  plotters  of  rebellion,  and 


32 

for  the  preservation  of  himself  and  his  family.  On  which 
occasion,  the  clergyman,  who  seems  to  have  been  an  amiable 
man,  made  this  spontaneous  remark,  "  That  he  believed  the 
Friend  had  put  his  confidence  in  a  higher  power."  On  the 
day  the  town  of  Enniscorthy  was  burned,  this  clergyman 
was  murdered,  and  his  body,  with  many  others,  was  exposed 
for  several  days  in  the  streets,  where  they  were  left  to  be 
eaten  by  the  swine,  till  party  rage  had  so  far  subsided  as  to 
embolden  a  few  Friends  to  bury  their  remains.  One  of  the 
magistrates  was  also  murdered,  and  his  house  was  burned 
over  the  body. 

As  the  members  of  the  Society,  at  so  early  a  period  as  the 
year  1796,  by  taking  the  precautionary  step  of  destroying 
their  arms,  manifested  to  the  government  their  peaceable 
intentions ;  so,  in  the  few  months  of  turbulence  and  dismay 
which  immediately  preceded  the  Rebellion  of  1798,  they 
were  in  a  considerable  degree  relieved  from  the  midnight 
depredations  of  the  rebels,  to  which  most  of  their  neighbors 
were  exposed,  in  the  lawless  search  for  destructive  weapons ; 
because  it  was  now  generally  known  that  none  such  were 
kept  in  their  houses.  And  the  National  Meeting  of  the 
Society  was  concerned  officially  to  acknowledge  its  belief, 
"  that  this  early  destruction  of  these  instruments  was,  under 
Providence,  a  means  of  lessening  in  some  degree  the  effusion 
of  human  blood,  (as  these  weapons  would  probably  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  violent  men,)  and  might  have  also 
tended  to  preserve  some  of  the  members  of  the  Society 
themselves  from  blood,  who,  if  they  had  had  guns  in  their 
houses,  might  have  used  them  in  an  unguarded  moment  of 
surprise  or  attack,  so  as  to  take  away  the  lives  of  their 
fellow-creatures." 

A  Friend,  living  near  the  town  of  Taghmon,  remarks,  that 
he  had  personal  proof  of  the  advantage  of  having  destroyed 
the  guns  kept  for  domestic  purposes;  and  he  gives  the 
following  instance :  "  Two  parties  of  insurgents  coming  near 
my  father's  residence  during  the  Rebellion,  an  individual 
of  one  party  of  them  snapped  a  gun  at  the  other ;  when  an 
armed  man  came  to  the  front  door,  and,  on  my  coming 
towards  him,  presented  his  gun  at  my  breast,  asserting  that  a 
gun  had  been  snapped  at  their  party  by  some  person  of  our 
family.  I  then  felt  less  of  fear  than  often,  during  that  period, 
when  in  less  apparent  danger,  and  told  him  we  had  destroyed 
our  guns,  and  that  there  had  been  no  arms  in  the  house, 
except  what  their  party  brought  into  it,  for  a  considerable 
tune ;  appealing  to  our  servants,  who  confirmed  the  truth 


33 

thereof.  And,  soon  after,  some,  probably  of  his  party,  came, 
and  he,  being,  I  supposed,  informed  of  the  real  circumstances 
of  the  case,  withdrew,  when  I  saw  one  of  the  party,  whom  I 
had  some  knowledge  of,  and  who  appeared  friendly  disposed 
to  me ;  and,  on  going  to  speak  with  him,  I  saw,  in  the  passage 
to  the  house,  numbers  sitting  in  groups,  as  if  consulting  on 
what  had  occurred." 

As  the  state  of  public  affairs  was  drawing  nearer  to  a  crisis, 
the  situation  of  the  Society,  especially  of  those  who  resided 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  contending  parties,  was  a  subject 
of  deep  and  awful  solicitude  to  its  feeling  members;  and 
many  individuals  had  the  efficacy  of  their  religious  principles 
against  War,  put,  in  various  ways,  to  severe  proof. 

Amongst  these,  the  Friend  before  alluded  to,  residing  in 
the  village  of  Ferns,  in  the  county  of  Wexford,  who  is 
represented  to  have  been  constitutionally  weak  in  body  and 
timid  in  disposition,  had  to  endure  a  considerable  share 
of  close  trials ;  and,  notwithstanding  his  natural  infirmities,  it 
appears  that,  in  most  cases,  he  was  enabled  to  support  his 
principles  with  exemplary  firmness. 

A  party  of  militia  being  stationed  at  Ferns,  the  Earl  of  M — , 
who  commanded,  came  to  this  Friend,  and  desired  he  would 
give  up  part  of  his  house,  which  was  then  used  as  a  store,  for 
a  guard-house  for  the  soldiers.  The  requisition  being- 
sudden,  the  Friend  was  put  to  a  stand  what  he  should 
answer;  and,  although  he  might  have  refused  it  on  the 
ground  of  its  being  occupied  as  a  store,  yet,  knowing  that 
this  inconvenience  could  be  obviated,  he  was  not  easy  to 
cloak  the  real  cause  of  objection  with  any  disguise  or 
subterfuge.  Considering,  therefore,  that  this  was  a  fit 
opportunity  to  lift  up  the  standard  of  peace,  and  to  bear  his 
testimony  against  war,  he  honestly  told  the  commander,  "  that 
the  apartment  he  requested  was  occupied  as  a  store-room,  — 
but,  besides,  that  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  wanted  were 
such  as  he  could  not  unite  with,  having  a  conscientious 
scruple  against  war,  and  every  thing  connected  with  it" 
Upon  this,  the  Earl  of  M —  grew  very  angry,  and  desired 
the  soldiers  who  were  with  him  to  afford  the  Friend  no 
protection,  in  case  any  disturbance  should  arise.  To  this 
observation  the  latter  replied,  that  "  he  hoped  he  should  not 
trust  to  or  apply  for  military  protection."  The  commander 
went  away  greatly  displeased,  and  seemed  to  mark  out  this 
Friend  as  a  disaffected  person ;  indeed,  he  did  not  know  how 
soon  a  prison  might  be  his  lot,  especially  as  one  of  the 
militia-men,  who  was  quartered  at  his  house  for  many  weeks, 


34 

being  entertained  at  free  cost,  propagated  many  false  reports 
of  him,  with  respect  to  political  matters  ;  so  that  his  situation 
became  increasingly  perilous. 

Some  months  after  this,  the  military  began  to  act  with 
great  rigor  towards  those  that  were  suspected  of  being 
United  Irishmen,*  —  burning  their  houses  and  stacks  of  corn, 
&c.,  and  fastening  caps  besmeared  with  pitch  upon  their 
heads.  They  were  preparing  to  burn  a  house  of  this 
description  in  the  village  of  Ferns ;  and  the  same  Friend, 
feeling  pity  for  the  man's  wife  and  children,  who  would  thus 
be  deprived  of  a  habitation,  was  induced  to  intercede  with 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  militia  on  their  behalf,  stating, 
that  he  did  not  come  to  intermeddle  between  him  and  the 
suspected  man,  but,  pitying  the  poor  wife  and  children,  he 
thought  it  would  be  hard  treatment  to  deprive  them  of  shelter, 
and  the  means  of  subsistence,  when  the  man  was  fully  in  his 
power ;  adding,  "  though  he  might  be  criminal,  probably  tltey 
were  innocent  of  his  crime."  During  this  expostulation,  the 
officer  became  very  warm  in  his  temper,  and  charged  the 
Quakers  with  meddling,  in  some  cases,  to  prevent  the 
execution  of  justice,  when,  in  others,  they  would  give  no 
assistance  to  the  government 

A  short  time  after  this,  when  the  United  Irishmen  got  the 
ascendency  in  the  town,  this  Friend  was  enabled  to  render 
the  officer  some  important  services;  and,  from  the  grateful 
acknowledgments  expressed  by  the  latter  in  return,  he  had 
the  satisfaction  of  thinking  that  the  prejudice  of  the  officer 
was  not  only  removed,  but  exchanged  for  a  feeling  of 
friendship.  This  occurrence  afforded  lin  interesting  example 
of  the  blessed  fruits  of  a  peaceable  conduct;  the  same 
individual  using  his  influence  alternately  with  both  parties, 
whilst  in  power, — an  influence  which  nothing  but  an 
undeviating  course  of  benevolence  towards  all  his  fellow- 
creatures  could  give  him, — to  intercede  for  the  depressed 
and  afflicted. 

On  another  occasion,  the  militia  were  preparing  to  hang 
some  suspected  persons,  for  not  delivering  up  their  weapons, 
and  to  fasten  pitch  caps  on  the  heads  of  others.  The  Friend 
was  fearful  of  being  applied  to  for  ropes,  which  he  had  for 

*  Those  who  opposed  the  Insurgents  were  sometimes  called 
Loyalists,  Orangemen,  Protestants,  Yeomen.  —  The  Insurgents 
were  also  termed  Pikemen,  United  Irishmen,  Rebels;  and 
sometimes  they  were  even  termed  Roman  Catholics,  as  chiefly 
consisting  of  that  class,  at  least  in  the  South  of  Ireland. 


35 

sale,  as  he  could  not  be  easy  to  sell  them  for  that  purpose  ; 
and  yet  he  saw  that  refusal  might  involve  him  in  some 
danger,  as  martial  law  had  been  proclaimed,  and  life  and 
property  were  subjected  to  military  discretion.  However, 
when  some  of  the  military  came  to  buy  ropes  and  linen,  he 
had  the  courage  to  refuse  to  sell  what  was  intended  to 
torment  or  destroy  a  fellow-creature.  The  articles  were 
accordingly  taken  by  force ;  and,  though  payment  was 
offered,  he  refused  it 

This  occurrence  took  place  a  little  before  the  general  rising 
of  the  United  Irishmen  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  he 
had  reason  to  believe  that,  under  the  direction  of  Providence, 
it  contributed  to  the  preservation  of  himself  and  his  family, 
at  that  juncture. 

For,  the  Rebels  having  received  information  that  he  refused 
to  sell  ropes  to  the  military  for  the  purpose  of  hanging  them, 
and  pitch  to  put  on  the  caps  to  torment  them,  placed  a  sentry 
at  his  door,  the  day  they  entered  the  town,  to  protect  his 
house  from  destruction.  And,  a  short  time  after  this,  when 
the  army  was  approaching,  and  the  United  Men  were  about 
to  fly  from  the  place,  some  of  the  latter  told  him,  that,  when 
the  soldiers  entered,  they  would  consider  every  house  that 
was  not  damaged  as  belonging  to  a  Rebel  or  disaffected 
person ;  and,  in  order  to  preserve  Ms  house  from  destruction 
by  the  military,  and  probably  to  save  the  lives  of  the  inhab- 
itants, they  would  break  the,  windows  before  they  took  leave 
of  him ;  which  they  accordingly  did,  and  his  house  was  not 
attacked  by  the  soldiers.  —  This  fact,  however,  is  a  little 
beyond  the  date  of  the  narrative. 

To  return,  therefore,  to  the  order  of  events;  —  the  same 
Friend  observing  that,  on  the  eve  of  the  insurrection,  a 
melancholy  silence  prevailed,  he  inquired  of  a  person  if 
there  was  any  thing  more  than  usual  in  prospect,  and  was 
told  that  the  country-people  were  collecting  in  large  bodies. 
At  this  intelligence,  a  cloud  of  darkness,  as  he  described  it, 
overspread  his  mind,  and  he  was  brought  to  a  state  of 
unutterable  distress.  He  knew,  indeed,  that  he  had  endeav- 
ored to  place  his  dependence  on  an  Almighty  Protector. 
But  the  feelings  natural  to  every  human  being  possessed  of  a 
Christian,  peaceable  disposition,  at  the  prospect  of  the  gulf 
that  was  opening  to  thousands  of  his  misguided  fellow- 
creatures,  of  the  ruin  and  desolation  about  to  fall  upon  his 
country,  and  of  imminent  danger  to  himself  and  his  family, 
produced  for  some  hours  a  conflict,  of  which  he  found  it 


36 

impossible  to  convey  an  adequate  idea,  and  almost  beyond 
what  he  seemed  able  to  endure. 

At  midnight,  the  town  was  filled  with  consternation,  guards 
and  divisions  of  the  army  were  placed  in  different  quarters ; 
and  the  Protestant  inhabitants  were  in  continual  terror. 

He  prevailed  upon  his  family  to  retire  to  bed,  but  they 
could  not  sleep;  yet  they  endeavored  to  attain  that  solemn 
retirement  of  soul,  in  which  it  is  best  prepared  to  meet  the 
calamities  of  life,  and  to  rely  on  the  mercy  and  power  of 
Omnipotence. 

Early  in  the  morning,  while  he  was  in  much  anxiety  as  to 
the  event,  a  person,  whom  he  supposed  to  be  one  of  the 
United  Irishmen,  came  into  the  house,  and  said,  "Let  who 
may  be  killed,  the  Quakers  will  be  spared."  These  words, 
trifling  as  they  might  appear,  seemed  to  him,  at  the  time,  like 
the  intimation  given  to  Gideon,  when  he  was  listening  to  the 
man  in  the  Midianites'  camp  telling  his  dream  to  his  fellow, 
which  tended  to  dissipate  his  fears,  and  to  confirm  his 
confidence.  He  then  felt  his  mind  somewhat  encouraged  to 
hope  that  their  lives  would  be  preserved. 

On  that  morning,  the  scene  was  very  awful ;  the  houses 
and  haggards  of  corn  were  in  flames  in  every  direction 
around  them,  some  being  set  on  fire  by  the  yeomanry,  and 
others  by  their  enemies ;  so  that,  between  the  two  parties, 
total  devastation  seemed  to  be  at  hand.  The  Protestant 
inhabitants  were  fleeing  into  the  towns  and  villages  for 
safety,  and  the  military  guards  under  anus  in  all  quarters ;  — 
persons  flying  into  town,  having  escaped  from  the  hands 
of  murderers  in  the  country ;  some  of  them  wounded,  and 
bringing  the  news  of  others  that  were  slain.  Property  was 
then  of  little  account ;  for  it  was  every  one's  concern  to 
escape  with  his  life. 

Being  informed  that  some  of  the  fugitive  Protestants  were 
exceedingly  in  want  of  something  to  eat,  the  same  Friend 
had  victuals  prepared,  and  sent  to  invite  them  to  allay  their 
hunger ;  but  it  so  happened,  that  none  of  them  came  to  avail 
themselves  of  his  benevolence. 

The  scene  now  became  changed,  though  the  prospect  was 
still  gloomy.  For,  in  the  evening,  the  military  left  the  toAvn, 
and  marched  to  Enniscorthy ;  and,  together  with  the  army, 
not  only  the  Protestants  who  came  into  Ferns  for  safety,  but 
those  who  resided  in  the  village. 

He  was  not  aware  of  their  departure  till  he  observed  that 
the  place  was  almost  depopulated.  A  state  of  things  so 


37 

opposite,  though  it  was  accompanied  with  marks  of  desolation, 
gave,  however,  a  little  time  to  contrast  the  quiet  of  peace 
with  the  alarms  of  war ;  and,  though  short,  this  interval  of 
calm  was  looked  upon  as  a  favor. 

But,  in  regard  to  the  issue,  his  mind  was  still  occupied  with 
painful  suspense,  which  continued  till  the  next  morning,  when 
the  town  and  neighborhood  became  filled  with  an  undisciplined 
and  ungovernable  multitude,  consisting  of  many  thousands 
of  the  United  Irishmen,  following  the  footsteps  of  the  army 
to  Enniscorthy,  and  demolishing  the  houses  of  those  called 
Loyalists  and  Orangemen,  —  for  their  owners  were  fled. 

His  house  was  soon  tilled  with  these  people;  when,  to 
his  astonishment  and  humbling  admiration,  instead  of  the 
massacre  he  and  his  family  had  dreaded,  they  were  met 
by  caresses  and  marks  of  friendship;  the  Insurgents  de- 
claring that  they  intended  them  no  injury,  but  would  fight 
for  them,  and  protect  them,  and  put  them  in  their  bosoms; 
adding,  that  they  required  nothing  but  provisions.  They 
seemed,  indeed,  to  be  in  extreme  want  of  something  to  eat, 
and  the  victuals  which  Jiad  been  prepared  for  those  they  called 
enemies,  ivere  now  ready  for  them.  When  they  had  therefore 
consumed  what  was  provided,  they  proceeded  on  their  route 
to  Enniscorthy. 

Soon  after,  in  the  direction  of  this  town,  which  was  about 
six  miles  distant,  the  columns  of  smoke  could  be  seen  rising 
from  the  burning  houses;  and  in  the  evening  some  of  the 
United  Men  returned,  with  tidings  that  Enniscorthy  was  in 
their  possession,  and  that  their  camp  was  fixed  on  Vinegar 
Hill,  over  the  town. 

The  next  day,  a  man  with  a  malicious  expression  of  coun- 
tenance, and  having  a  loner  spit  in  his  hand,  came  to  the 
Friend,  and  threatened  to  kill  him,  for  some  alleged  offence, 
saying,  "  I  have  killed  Turner,"  (meaning  a  neighboring 
magistrate,)  "  and  have  burned  him  in  his  own  house,  and  now 
1  will  rack*  you  as  I  please."  He  endeavored  to  convince 
the  man  of  his  mistake;  and,  being  joined  by  the  persuasions 
of  a  neighbor,  with  much  difficulty  prevailed  upon  him  to  be 
quiet ;  so  that  at  length  he  parted  in  friendship. 

The  day  after  Enniscorthy  was  taken  by  the  Insurgents, 
several  of  the  poor  distressed  Protestants,  mostly  women,  re- 
turned homeward  to  the  village,  which  they  had  deserted 

*  The  term  Rack  was  in  common  use  during  the  Rebellion,  to 
denote  the  entire  demolition  of  the  interior  of  the  houses  of  those 
w  o  were  considered  enemies. 
4 


38 

when  the  army  left  it.  Two  females,  servants  to  the  Bishop 
of  Ferns,  and  a  woman  whose  husband  was  killed  the  day 
before,  came,  with  the  children  of  the  latter,  to  the  Friend's 
door,  as  persons  that  had  no  dwelling-place.  They  stood  in 
the  street,  looking  up  and  down  in  all  the  eloquence  of  silent 
distress.  Though  he  had  but  small  accommodation,  his  heart 
and  his  house  were  both  open  to  the  afflicted  ;  and,  notwith- 
standing the  severe  threatenings  he  received  from  the  then 
ruling  party,  for  entertaining  those  to  whom  they  were  hostile, 
he  and  his  family  endeavored  to  accommodate  all  they  could 
without  distinction.  Even  of  the  United  Irishmen,  such  as 
staid  in  the  town,  and  as  many  of  their  wives  and  families 
as  could  find  room,  used  to  come  to  his  house  at  night  to 
lodge,  supposing  themselves  more  secure  than  in  their  own 
habitations. 

This  was  also  the  case  in  the  houses  of  most  other  members 
of  the  Society,  in  any  way  exposed  to  the  contending  parties. 
And,  in  such  a  state  of  anarchy,  when  all  laws  were  disre- 
garded, and  every  man  acted  according  to  his  own  will,  how- 
ever perverse,  it  was  not  surprising  that  instances  of  ingratitude 
should  now  and  then  appear :  one  of  these  may  be  mentioned : 
—  Previously  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,  the  military 
had  destroyed  the  habitation  and  property  of  a  neighboring 
farmer,  who,  with  his  family,  sought  shelter  at  the  house  of 
another  member  of  the  Society,  near  Ferns.  He  provided 
them  with  one  of  his  out-houses  to  live  in,  until  they  could 
better  their  condition.  But  when  their  party  got  the  ascen- 
dency, the  farmer  took  possession  of  his  protector's  dwelling- 
house,  and  manifested  his  intention  of  turning  him  and  his 
family  out  of  it ;  and  probably  would  have  carried  it  into 
execution,  had  not  the  short  duration  of  the  United  Irishmen's 
power  prevented  this  ungrateful  determination. 

It  may  be  noticed  that,  during  the  continuance  of  the 
struggle,  the  houses  of  Friends  appeared  to  be  marked  out 
for  places  of  entertainment  They  were  almost  constantly 
full,  day  and  night;  and  it  was  matter  of  surprise  that  their 
provisions  held  out  as  they  did  to  the  end  of  the  conflict. 
The  members  of  the  Society,  and  some  of  the  then  oppressed 
party,  sometimes  conveyed  provisions  to  one  another  privately. 
The  United  Men  sometimes  offered  part  of  their  own  stock  ; 
but  when  it  was  known  to  be  plunder,  or,  as  it  was  called,  the 
spoils  of  war,  the  Friends  declined  to  accept  it ;  and  it  was 
evident  that  such  refusal  was  mostly  taken  in  the  light  of 
an  ofience.  Indeed,  the  United  Men  often  discovered  their 


chagrin  because  they  could  not  prevail  upon  the  members  of 
the  Society  to  unite  with  them  in  their  requisitions. 

From  the  number  of  United  Men,  who  came  to  lodge  almost 
every  night  in  the  Friends'  houses,  these  were  in  continual 
danger  of  falling  a  prey  to  the  King's  anny,  if  it  should  make 
an  attack  on  the  town ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Friends 
were  continually  threatened  by  the  pikemen  for  not  turning 
out  the  poor  fugitive  Protestant  women  and  their  children, 
who  had  taken  shelter  under  their  roofs.  But,  although  they 
appeared  to  be  in  danger,  according  to  human  apprehension, 
from  both  parties,  they  were,  in  fact,  alternately  protected  by 
both. 

The  Friend  above  mentioned,  who  was  nearly  dispossessed 
by  the  ungrateful  farmer,  being,  at  one  time,  much  threatened 
for  not  complying  in  this  respect,  very  candidly  told  the  men 
who  threatened  him,  that,  he  would  not  turn  out  poor  distressed 
creatures  from  his  house,  whatever  might  be  the  consequence ; 
and,  seeing  his  firmness,  they  did  not  enforce  compliance, 
although  they  expressed  great  dissatisfaction. 

Some  of  them  also  came  one  morning  to  the  other  Friend, 
and  told  him,  his  house  was  to  be  burned  that  day,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  refusal  to  turn  out  the  Protestant  women  that 
were  in  it.  He  replied,  that  "  if  they  did  so  he  could  not 
help  it ;  but  that  as  long  as  he  had  a  house,  he  would  keep  it 
open  to  succor  the  distressed ;  and,  if  they  burned  it  for  that 
reason,  he  must  only  turn  out  along  with  them,  and  share  in 
their  affliction." 

It  so  happened  that  this  was  the  regular  day  on  which  the 
Meeting  for  Worship  of  the  Society,  in  that  quarter,  was  to 
be  held,  about  a  mile  from  Ferns  ;  and,  notwithstanding  the 
alarming  denunciation,  he  considered  it  his  duty  to  take  his 
family  with  him  to  Meeting,  leaving  his  home  with  a  heavy 
heart,  as  he  expected  soon  to  be  without  a  habitation,  as  well 
as  the  means  of  present  support.  On  his  return  to  Ferns, 
however,  he  was  rejoiced  to  see  his  dwelling  entire  ;  and  his 
heart  was  filled  with  praises  and  thankfulness  to  the  good 
Providence  that  had  preserved  it.  Whatever  might  have 
been  the  reason  that  prevented  them  from  executing  the 
threat,  their  evil  disposition  towards  him  on  that  account  seemed 
to  be  changed  ;  for  they  did  not  make  any  requisition  of  the 
kind  afterwards. 

Throughout  the  calamity,  it  was  his  uniform  experience, 
that  the  more  he  attended  to  what  he  conceived  to  be  right 
in  his  own  conduct,  the  more  he  seemed  to  be  respected  by 
them ;  even  when  he  expostulated  with  them  on  account  of 


40 

the  cruelties  committed  by  their  party,  as  at  Vinegar  Hill, 
Wexford,  and  Scullabogue.  They  quietly  listened  to  his  re- 
monstrance, and  frequently  acknowledged  the  wrong. 

A  party  of  the  King's  army,  stationed  in  NeAvtown-barry, 
came  to  Ferns  to  disperse  the  United  Irishmen  who  held  pos- 
session of  the  place.  The  latter,  at  first,  made  some  demon- 
strations as  if  they  would  risk  a  battle;  but  seeing  that  the 
regular  troops  opposed  to  them  were  provided  with  cannon, 
they  fled  away  from  the  town.  On  hearing  that  the  army 
was  coming  in,  the  Friend  stood  at  his  own  door,  lest  he 
should  be  suspected  of  being  an  enemy.  When  the  military 
came  near  his  door,  one  of  the  soldiers,  stepping  out  of  the 
ranks,  presented  a  gun  at  his  breast,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
drawing  the  trigger,  when  the  Friend  called  to  Mm  "  to  desist 
from  murder"  The  soldier,  like  one  struck  with  amazement, 
immediately  let  the  gun  fall  from  his  shoulder,  and  presently 
his  officers  interfered  for  the  Friend's  protection  ;  whose  life 
was  thus  preserved,  as  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left. 

Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  village,  who  were  found 
unarmed  in  the  houses,  being  made  prisoners  by  the  soldiers, 
they  pleaded  their  innocence  ;  but,  in  such  a  state  of  things, 
they  could  not  easily  prove  it  The  commanding  officer 
therefore  desired,  that  if  there  were  any  Quakers  in  the  town, 
they  would  get  certificates  of  good  behavior  from  them ;  which, 
he  added,  he  would  be  willing  to  accept,  and  then  to  liberate 
them.  The  same  Friend  was  accordingly  applied  to  on  behalf 
of  several,  and  procured  their  liberation.  Had  he  been  put 
to  death  by  the  hand  of  the  hasty  soldier,  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  those  who  obtained  their  release  afterwards  by  his  means, 
would  probably  have  shared  the  same  fate,  for  want  of  credible 
testimonials  ;  and  thus  one  sacrifice  would  have  been  added 
to  another,  and  Death  would  have  multiplied  its  victims 
without  any  regard  to  their  innocence.  Thus  it  is  when 
violence  is  permitted  to  reign;  and  thus  it  would  be  on 
every  occasion  if  there  were  not  an  overruling  Providence 
to  say  to  the  peaceful  sufferer  in  his  wrongs  —  "  It  is  enough ; " 
and  to  the  proud  oppressor  in  his  fury — "Thus  far  shalt 
thou  go." 

A  Friend  of  Enniscorthy  informed  an  acquaintance  that,  on 
the  day  when  the  town  was  taken  from  the  rebels  by  the 
army,  he  was  in  great  distress,  thinking  it  the  most  critical 
and  dangerous  time  of  the  whole ;  for  he  supposed  that,  on 
the  entrance  of  the  soldiers,  they  would  consider  that  every 
man,  whom  they  found  alive  in  colored  clothes,  was  a  rebel, 
and  consequently  would  put  him  to  death.  As  he  was  walking 


41 

up  and  down  one  of  the  upper  street-rooms  of  his  house,  he 
heard  voices  in  the  street,  and,  looking  out,  saw  some  soldiers 
carrying  a  wounded  man,  (supposed  to  be  an  officer,)  and 
seeking  for  a  place  of  safety  in  which  to  deposit  their  charge. 
The  Friend,  opening  the  window,  told  them  they  might  bring 
him  into  his  house.  On  hearing  his  voice,  one  of  the  soldiers 
looked  up,  and,  seeing  the  Friend,  exclaimed,  "That  is  a 
Quaker  ;  we  may  safely  go  in  there  ; "  which  they  did,  with 
their  wounded  comrade ;  and,  when  the  main  body  of  the 
army  entered,  seeing  soldiers  in  the  house,  they  went  in 
without  fear,  and  without  injuring  the  place.  One  of  the 
Generals  took  up  his  quarters  for  some  time  in  the  house. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Of  the  Dangers  to  which  the  Society  was  exposed  in  the  Attend- 
ance of  their  Meetings. 

THE  events  which  have  been  noticed  in  the  last  Chapter,  as 
far  as  they  relate  to  the  Society  of  Friends,  may  be  considered 
rather  of  a  domestic  nature,  concerning  only  two  or  three 
families.  It  may  now,  therefore,  be  proper  to  say  a  lew 
words  as  to  the  situation  of  its  members  in  the  quarter  where 
the  individual,  so  often  alluded  to,  resided,  viz.,  in  the  county 
of  Wexford,  with  respect  to  the  performance  of  their  religious 
duties.  In  this  part  of  the  country,  notwithstanding  some  of 
the  members  of  the  same  Meeting  were  several  miles  distant 
from  each  other,  they  did  not  suffer  their  perplexities  at  home 
to  interfere  with  the  sacred  duty  of  religious  worship  abroad, 
or  to  prevent  them  from  traversing  the  country,  filled  with 
armed  men,  amidst  dangers,  if  possible,  still  greater  than 
those  they  had  left,  in  order  that  they  might  assemble  together 
for  this  solemn  purpose.  Consequently,  in  going  to,  and  re- 
turning from,  their  meetings,  they  had  to  encounter  many 
difficulties,  besides  the  struggle  between  their  faith  and  their 
natural  fears,  in  leaving  their  houses  and  property  a  prey, 
perhaps,  to  pillage,  or  to  the  flames,  during  their  absence. 
Human  prudence,  it  is  likely,  would  have  induced  them,  in 
such  an  awful  extremity,  to  remain  at  home,  and  to  look  after 
their  outward  affairs ;  but  the  sense  of  what  they  owed  to 
their  Maker,  and  to  the  Society  of  which  they  were  members, 
4  * 


42 

in  many  instances,  overbalanced  these  selfish  considerations ; 
and  it  appears,  that  in  most  cases  they  left  behind  them  a  bet- 
ter guardian  than  human  prudence. 

Most  of  the  horses  being  taken  from  them,  the  members  of 
that  particular  Meeting  had  frequently  to  walk  to  their  place 
of  worship.  The  first  time  they  did  so,  some  of  them  met  a 
man  of  very  terrible  character,  who  had  killed  a  neighbor,  in 
Ferns,  a  day  or  two  before.  He  was,  however,  friendly  in  his 
behavior  to  them,  and  even  offered  to  have  them  carried  to 
their  Meeting.  But,  though  they  acknowledged  his  civility, 
they  did  not  accept  his  offer,  pursuing  their  journey  on  foot 
six  Irish  miles. 

Parties  of  these  people  often  met  with  the  Friends  going  to 
and  returning  from  their  Meeting,  and  they  were  sometimes 
very  inquisitive  to  know  whence  they  came,  and  whither  they 
were  going ;  but  none  of  them  offered  any  molestation,  except 
at  one  time,  when  several  Friends  were  passing  to  Meeting 
through  Camolin,  a  village  not  far  from  Ferns,  with  a  horse 
belonging  to  one,  and  a  jaunting-car  to  another.  A  great 
number  of  United  Men  being  in  the  street,  and  conversing 
about  the  Society,  one  of  them  said,  "  It  was  the  last  time  the 
Quakers  should  ever  go  that  road."  After  the  latter  had 
passed  the  crowd,  a  shot  was  fired,  apparently  to  alarm  them. 
The  horse  took  fright,  and  broke  the  traces  —  an  inconvenience 
they  remedied  as  well  as  they  were  able,  and  afterwards  pro- 
ceeded quietly  to  their  meeting-place.  It  was  a  remarkable 
circumstance  that,  before  the  next  meeting-day  came  round 
in  regular  course,  the  power  of  these  misguided  men  was 
overthrown. 

In  other  parts  of  the  county  of  Wexford,  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Society,  having  been  observed  by  the  United  Men 
to  persevere  in  attending  their  place  of  religious  worship, 
notwithstanding  the  threats  and  opposition  they  experienced, 
became  objects  of  this  party's  displeasure,  and  were  apprized, 
that,  if  they  persisted,  they  should  be  taken  to  the  Altar 
of  a  neighboring  Chapel,  and  suffer  the  penalty  of  their  ob- 
stinacy. 

A  large  and  respectable  family  of  the  Society,  though  they 
were  often  threatened  and  advised  by  a  priest  and  otners  to 
stay  at  home  for  some  time,  or  at  least  to  go  by  some  private 
way,  did  not  feel  that  it  would  be  right  for  them  to  go  to 
Meeting  by  any  other  than  the  usual  way,  along  the  high 
road,  through  the  town  of  Taghmon,  which  was  inhabited 
almost  entirely  by  persons  supposed  to  be  friendly  to  the 
United  Irishmen,  and  therefore  unfriendly  to  them.  Some  of 


43 

these  were  heard  to  say  of  the  Friends,  "  They  even  dare  us 
by  going  through  the  streets,  hut  they  shall  not  go  long ; " 
and  they  used  many  threats,  both  by  words  and  actions,  to 
intimidate  the  family.  The  young  women,  who  were  deli- 
cately brought  up,  sometimes  walked  to  and  from  the  Meeting- 
place  at  Forrest,  about  four  Irish  miles  distant,  without  any 
male  attendant,  and  experienced  no  molestation,  even  in  the 
very  height  of  the  commotions  ;  their  parents,  from  the  infirm- 
ities of  advanced  age,  being  unable  to  accompany  them.  On 
one  of  these  occasions,  having  been  more  than  usually 
threatened,  they  remarked  that  a  strange  dog,  which  they 
could  not  recollect  to  have  ever  seen  before,  followed,  or 
rather  accompanied  them  home,  as  an  escort  for  some  miles ; 
and,  on  seeing  them  safe  to  the  house,  which  he  could  not  be 
prevailed  upon  to  enter,  left  them.  This  might  have  been 
only  an  accidental  occurrence,  but  it  engaged  their  attention 
at  the  time;  and,  though  simple  in  itself,  may  now  prove 
nothing  more  than  that  their  minds  were  not  resting  upon 
human  help. 

Amongst  the  various  menaces  that  were  used  to  alarm  the 
Society,  some  of  the  United  Irishmen  spoke  "  of  converting 
the  Quakers'  Meeting-house  at  Forrest  into  a  Romish 
Chapel ;"  and  two  boys  were  heard  to  say  that  "they  would 
burn  the  Quakers  in  their  place  of  worship  the  next  meeting 
day."  A  member  of  that  Meeting,  residing  near,  was  also 
informed  that  the  Meeting-house  should  be  burned  ;  and  that 
he  and  his  large  family  should  be  destroyed,  if  he  attempted 
to  go  there  again  ;  and  in  order  to  intimidate  him  the  more,  a 
blunderbuss  was  presented  at  him.  Another  Friend  was  also 
told  by  a  woman,  that  she  heard  several  persons  declare,  on 
the  very  day  the  Rebels  were  driven  out  of  their  camp  near 
Ross,  "  that  the  Quakers  should  never  meet  again  at  their 
Meeting-house  in  Forrest"  Thus  it  appears  that  the  same 
threat  was  held  out  to  many  families. 

It  is  worthy,  however,  of  notice,  that,  notwithstanding  indi- 
viduals and  whole  families  were  thus  threatened,  in  different 
places,  few  were  deterred  from  the  steady  pursuit  of  what 
they  considered  to  be  the  path  of  religious  duty ;  and  the 
fact  is  to  be  recorded,  as  a  monument,  not  to  their  praise,  but 
to  the  mercy  of  that  Providence  which  watches  over  the 
weakest  of  his  children  who  trust  in  him,  that  all  the  machi- 
nations and  evil  designs  of  their  enemies,  in  this  as  in  other 
instances,  were  signally  confounded  ;  for  on  the  very  morning 
of  the  next  Meeting-day  at  Forrest,  when  so  many  were  to  be 
devoted  to  destruction,  and  their  houses  to  the  flames,  the 


44 

power  of  the  United  Irishmen  was  overthrown  by  a  decisive 
battle  near  Vinegar  Hill.  Accordingly,  about  the  time  ap- 
pointed for  public  worship,  when  the  Friends  met  together  as 
usual,  numbers  of  these  misguided  people,  who  had  been 
calculating  on  the  possession  of  power  to  effect  their  own 
cruel  ends,  —  instead  of  carrying  their  designs  into  execution, 
were  actually  assembled  about  the  door  and  windows  of  the 
Meeting-house,  not  as  a  building  doomed  with  its  inmates  to 
destruction,  but  as  a  p  lace  of  safety  to  themselves;  and  they 
remained  there  till  the  meeting  concluded,  and  the  Friends 
had  withdrawn. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Forrest  was  the  only  Meeting 
where  such  circumstances  occurred  —  of  malignant  threats 
appalling  to  human  nature  on  one  side,  and  of  unshaken  firm- 
ness in  the  support  of  religious  testimonies  on  the  other.  — 
The  members  of  Cooladine  and  Enniscorthy  Meetings,  in  the 
same  county,  were  placed  nearly  in  the  same  predicament 
with  those  of  Forrest.  They  were  threatened ;  and,  though 
some  of  them  had  to  lament  the  loss  of  their  property,  and  the 
destruction  even  of  their  houses,  in  the  indiscriminate  devas- 
tation, yet  the  threats  of  personal  violence  to  them  were 
found  to  be  impotent,  and  their  lives  were  providentially 
preserved. 

The  United  Men  told  a  Friend  of  Cooladine,  that,  "  if  the 
Quakers  ever  attempted  to  meet  again  in  the  Meeting-house 
there,  it  should  be  burned." 

When  the  town  of  Enniscorthy  was  in  possession  of  the 
Rebels,  the  time  of  holding  the  Monthly  Meeting  there  had 
arrived ;  and  different  members  of  the  particular  Meetings 
composing  it,  except  of  Ross,  which  was  then  in  a  state  of 
siege,  prepared  to  attend  it  Some  came  from  Ferns,  Coola- 
dine, and  Balanclay.  Although  their  horses  were  taken  from 
some  Friends  on  the  road,  by  patrols  from  the  Rebel  camp 
at  Vinegar  Hill,  they  were  not  themselves  prevented  from 
pursuing  their  journey  on  foot  many  miles ;  and  they  entered 
Enniscorthy,  scarcely  knowing  whether  they  would  be  per- 
mitted to  go  to  their  Meeting-house  or  not,  and  almost  doubt- 
ing whether  they  should  find  it  standing.  They  were,  however, 
enabled  to  hold  their  meeting  for  worship ;  but  were  much 
interrupted  by  persons  walking  and  making  a  noise  in  a  loft 
or  gallery  adjoining,  who,  after  a  while,  went  away.  It  ap- 
peared that  these  persons  came  with  a  malicious  design,  but 
that  they  were  prevented  from  carrying  it  into  execution.  A 
large  hole  was  observed  to  have  been  broken  in  the  ceiling, 
which,  the  Friends  were  told,  was  made  for  the  purpose  of 


45 

setting  the  house  more  readily  on  fire,  but  that  others  of  the 
party  interfered  to  prevent  it. 

Soon  after  this  Monthly  Meeting  of  Enniscorthy,  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting  for  Leinster  Province  was  to  be  held,  in  due 
course,  in  the  same  town.  As  the  time  approached,  it  seemed 
almost  impossible,  from  the  appearance  of  things,  that  it  could 
be  accomplished.  Yet  many  individuals,  some  from  distant 
places,  acting  in  faith  and  simplicity  of  heart,  left  their  homes 
to  attend  it,  and  the  way  was  gradually  opened  before  them. 
The  outward  aspect  of  affairs  at  the  time  Avas,  indeed,  changed ; 
for  the  United  Men  had  only  recently  been  defeated  with 
great  slaughter,  and  their  camp  was  broken  up.  Accordingly, 
several  Friends  had  to  pass  through  heaps  of  slain  on  the 
road,  and  in  some  instances  were  obliged  to  remove  the  dead 
bodies  of  the  Rebels  out  of  the  way,  that  they  might  not  tram- 
ple on  them,  to  the  wonder  of  the  spectators ;  some  of  whom 
exclaimed  —  "The  Quakers  must  be  mad." 

It  may  therefore  be  noticed,  that,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Cooladine  Meeting,  the  camp  of  Vinegar  Hill,  a  mile  distant, 
was  broken  up  by  the  battle  which  took  place  there  the  day 
before  their  week-day  meeting  occurred  ;  and  so,  way  seemed 
to  be  opened  not  only  for  the  attendance  of  that  meeting,  but 
of  Leinster  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Enniscorthy  the  day  fol- 
lowing. 

At  the  latter,  the  members  of  the  Society  who  attended, 
were  comforted  together,  under  a  humbling  sense  of  the 
providential  care  they  had  so  largely  experienced ;  and, 
having  held  their  meetings  for  worship,  as  well  as  that  for 
regulating  the  affairs  of  the  Society,  in  much  quietness,  they 
were  favored  to  return  to  their  respective  habitations  in  safety. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Of  the  Trials  to  which  Friends  were  exposed  for  refusing  to 
conform  to  the  Ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

A  FRIEND  of  Enniscorthy  Meeting,  residing  a  few  miles 
from  that  town,  was  made  prisoner  at  his  own  house,  and 
taken  by  a  number  of  pikemen  to  the  house  of  a  neighboring 
priest  with  whom  he  was  intimately  acquainted.  The  priest 
told  him  that  lie  must  become  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  be 
christened ;  for  that  no  other  profession  of  religion  was  now 


46 

to  be  allowed.  At  this,  the  Friend  was  greatly  surprised,  and 
said,  he  had  a  better  opinion  of  the  priest  than  to  suppose  he 
would  force  men  to  make  a  profession  of  religion  in  opposition 
to  their  consciences.  The  priest  replied,  "  there  was  no  al- 
ternative, either  to  become  a  Roman  Catholic  or  to  be  put  to 
death."  The  Friend  remarked,  that  "by  so  doing, they  would 
be  only  making  hypocrites  of  such  as  might  be  induced  to 
comply ;  and,  for  his  part,  that  he  would  choose  to  suffer, 
rather  than  to  violate  his  conscience  ;  that,  if  there  was  any 
crime  laid  to  his  charge,  he  was  willing  to  be  tried,  and,  on 
that  ground,  was  not  afraid  to  look  any  of  them  in  the  face." 
The  priest,  who  had  every  thing  ready  for  baptizing,  according 
to  their  mode,  seemed  much  disappointed,  and  brought  him 
out  to  the  pikemen  to  be  taken  to  Vinegar  Hill.  The  Friend 
again  expostulated  with  the  priest  and  pikemen  together, 
urging  that,  if  there  was  any  thing  worthy  of  death  laid  to  his 
charge,  he  was  willing  to  undergo  a  trial.  The  pikemen, 
although  they  seemed  much  displeased  that  he  would  not 
become  a  Roman  Catholic,  acknowledged  the  justness  of  his 
proposal,  and,  in  obedience  to  the  priest,  conveyed  him  to  their 
camp. 

A  few  other  Friends  were  also  made  prisoners,  from  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  county,  and  were  taken  to  the  camp  at 
Vinegar  Hill,  where  they  underwent  a  sort  of  trial ;  but,  noth- 
ing being  alleged  against  them,  they  were  set  at  liberty. 
Their  liberation  was  not  a  little  remarkable,  as  many  other 
persons  were  put  to  death,  against  whom  no  charge  of  enmity 
was  brought,  nor  any  ground  of  accusation,  except  that  they 
were  Protestants. 

A  Friend  from  Ulster,  then  on  a  religious  service  in  that 
part  of  the  country,  was  taken  prisoner  and  brought  to  the 
camp ;  and  at  the  time  the  Rebel  army  was  performing  the 
service  of  mass,  as  he  could  not  take  any  part  in  their  form 
of  worship,  they  suffered  him  to  remain  standing  alone,  with 
his  head  covered,  while  they  were  on  their  knees,  during  the 
ceremony. 

Many  were  the  instances  in  which,  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  a  dark  and  persecuting  spirit  displayed  itself  during 
the  rebellion. 

An  elderly  Friend,  the  father  of  a  large  family,  who  was  in 
a  declining  state  of  health,  and  whose  daughters  used  to  go 
alone  to  their  meeting  at  Forrest,  as  mentioned  in  page  42, 
was  one,  who,  from  the  respectability  of  his  character  and  his 
influence  in  the  country,  was  marked  by  the  Insurgents  and 
their  leaders,  as  a  desirable  object  of  their  proselytism,  in  this 


47 

reign  of  terror.  For,  as  they  were  decidedly  unwilling  to 
take  the  lives  of  the  Friends,  their  object  was  to  convert  them, 
by  entreaties  or  by  menaces,  to  their  faith. 

In  the  case  of  this  Friend,  they  labored  at  it  very  assidu- 
ously ;  for  if,  by  any  means,  his  conversion  could  have  been 
accomplished,  it  is  certain  that  they  would  have  regarded  it 
as  a  signal  triumph.  He  was  urged  and  threatened;  but 
when  the  attempt  became  hopeless,  one  of  the  priests  told 
some  of  the  insurgents,  after  inquiring,  "  had  they  not  killed 
him  yet,"  that  "  they  could  not  go  forward  until  they  had  de- 
spatched the  old  man"  One  night,  about  twelve  o'clock,  a 
number  of  them  entered  his  house,  and  when  they  had  plun- 
dered it  of  what  they  wished,  they  snapped  a  pistol  at  him 
several  times,  seeming  to  be  determined  to  take  his  life. 
After  some  consideration,  they  then  insisted  upon  his  going 
with  them  to  their  main  guard,  which  was  stationed  at  a  dis- 
tance. He  made  an  effort  to  go  with  them,  accompanied  by 
one  of  his  daughters  ;  but,  feeling  much  weakness,  and  finding 
himself  unable  to  proceed,  he  sat  down  under  a  tree  in  his 
own  lawn.  After  a  pause,  which  they  did  not  seem  to  under- 
stand, they  inquired  "  what  he  had  to  say."  His  reply  was, 
that,  "  should  they  be  permitted  to  take  his  life,  he  hoped  the 
Almighty  might  be  pleased  to  forgive  them,  and  to  take  him 
in  his  mercy."  Upon  this  they  were  silent,  left  him,  and  went 
quietly  away. 

A  kinsman  of  this  Friend,  living  in  the  country  not  far 
from  him,  and  only  a  few  miles  from  the  noted  Barn  of  Scul- 
labogue,  where  a  number  of  Protestants,  men,  women,  and 
children,  were  collected  from  the  neighboring  country,  and 
burned  to  death,  had  also  a  large  family,  which  was  exposed  to 
much  danger  during  the  disturbances.  A  member  of  this 
family  (the  eldest  son)  has  supplied  me  with  the  following 
authentic  narrative  of  tne  events  that  occurred  to  himself  and 
his  relatives  during  that  awful  visitation. 

"After  the  removal  of  the  rebels  to  Carrig-Burn,  we  were 
constantly  visited  in  the  day-time  by  armed  parties  and  indi- 
viduals (proceeding  to  join  the  camp)  for  refreshment ;  this  we 
could  not  avoid  affording  them,  as  far  as  lay  in  our  power ;  it 
generally  consisted  of  bread  and  milk,  or  milk  and  water. 
Few  of  the  strangers  behaved  offensively,  and  several  expressed 
themselves  dissatisfied  with  the  hardships  their  present  em- 
ployment rendered  them  subject  to.  Some  of  our  neighbors  — 
those  who  had  been  in  habits  of  receiving  little  acts  of  kind- 
ness and  assistance  from  us  —  were  those  whose  dispositions 
we  afterwards  found  we  had  most  cause  to  dread.  Our  horses 


48 

were  about  this  time  all  taken  from  us,  but,  I  believe,  none 
other  of  our  stock.  Our  servants,  male  and  female,  also  left 
us,  save  one  little  faithful  girl,  who  still  lives  in  the  family ; 
but  she  was  at  length  compelled  from  her  fears  to  leave  us. 
Our  visits  in  the  day-time  were  frequent,  as  I  have  noticed, 
but  our  nights  were  generally  passed  in  awful  tranquillity.  The 
morning  of  the  day  on  which  the  battle  of  Ross  took  place, 
with  us  was  gloomy,  and  we  thought  we  heard  an  indistinct 
rumbling  in  the  air,  (the  distance  is  about  seven  miles ;)  but 
we  did  not  then  know  that  the  attack  on  that  day  was  medita- 
ted. We  had  but  few  visitors,  and  all  seemed  darkness  and 
gloom  with  those  we  did  see ;  but  we  at  length  became,  in 
some  degree,  acquainted  with  the  state  of  things.  In  the 
morning,  my  father  and  I  walked  up  to  the  corner  of  our 
farm,  where,  from  a  bank,  we  saw  the  smoke  of  the  Barn  of 
Scullabogue,  where  the  horrid  scene  had  been  just  acted ;  but 
we  were  not  then  aware  of  this  awful  fact !  A  neighbor  of 
ours,  Avho  was  considered  rather  of  superior  rank  among  the 
farmers,  called  at  the  house  in  the  course  of  the  day,  and 
made  use  of  an  odd  expression,  exemplifying  the  general 
feelings  of  his  party,  namely  — '  If  these  (meaning  the  rebels) 
gain  the  day  in  Ross,  we  will  dissect  every  Protestant  in  Ire- 
land? Providence  was  pleased  to  disappoint  those  cruel 
hopes  and  merciless  intentions.  Rancorous  feelings,  how- 
ever, heightened  by  disappointment  and  defeat  in  this  main 
object  at  Ross,  now  began  to  evince  themselves.  A  principal 
actor  in  those  scenes  was  a  man  named  Kehoe,  who  went 
about  our  neighborhood  committing  murders.  He  shot,  at  his 
own  door,  the  foster-father  of  one  of  my  brothers,  an  inoffen- 
sive man,  but  a  Protestant ;  and  also  a  poor  old  man  of  the 
same  persuasion,  upwards  of  eighty  years  of  age.  He  also 
formed,  as  is  presumed,  similar  intentions,  as  regarded  the 
whole  of  our  family,  the  circumstances  of  which  I  shall,  as 
nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  relate. 

"  Some  days  after  the  battle  of  Ross,  a  party  of  men,  armed, 
came  about  noon  to  the  back  door  of  our  house,  of  whom  this 
man  appeared  to  be  chief.  They  asked  for  some  refresh- 
ment, and  were  ushered  into  the  kitchen,  and  sat  down  at  a 
table,  and  some  food  was  set  before  them.  A  few  minutes 
after  another  party,  about  the  same  number,  (about  eight  per- 
sons,) also  armed,  came  to  the  front  door,  and  inquired  if 
some  of  their  men  were  not  in  the  house,  which  was  replied 
to  by  my  father  in  the  affirmative  ;  and  they  were  sent  to  join 
them  in  the  kitchen,  when  they  all  sat  down  to  the  table,  or 
near  it  We  were  all  at  this  time  in  the  parlor:  my  dear 


mother  seemed  to  feel  an  impulse  on  her  mind  to  go  out  into 
the  kitchen,  and  requested  my  father  to  remain  with  the  chil- 
dren in  the  parlor.  I  went  with  her ;  she  carried  a  stocking 
she  was  knitting,  and  we  placed  ourselves  with  our  backs  to 
the  fireplace,  and  immediately  facing  the  table  where  this 
party  sat  After  a  few  moments,  when  they  appeared  to  have 
finished  their  repast,  they  remained  in  a  state  of  sullen  silence, 
when  this  Kehoe  raised  his  eyes,  and  sternly  fixed  them  upon 
my  mother.  She  instantly  perceived  it,  and  kept  her  eyes 
firmly  fixed  on  his,  until  he  bent  down  his  head,  as  if  confound- 
ed. A  short  pause  of  sullen  silence  again  ensued  among 
them  ;  I  do  not  believe  a  word  was  uttered  by  any  one  ;  and 
tfiey  all,  as  by  one  impulse,  suddenly  rose  from  their  seats, 
went  out,  and  went  away.  In  the  mean  time  the  girl  I  have 
noticed  went  out  for  some  turf  for  the  fire,  when  she  found  a 
number  of  women  in  the  out-offices,  who  had  ropes  with  them, 
and  who  inquired  from  her  anxiously  —  *  What  are  the  men 
about?  What  art  the  men  about?'  We  afterwards  under- 
stood that  these  ropes  were  intended  to  assist  in  carrying 
away  the  plunder,  after  our  lives  had  been  disposed  of  by 
this  party.  We  were  not,  however,  at  the  moment  aware  of 
this,  their  cruel  intent ;  but  soon  after  —  I  rather  think  it  was 
the  evening  of  the  same  day  —  a  poor  man,  who  had  lived 
with  us  since  my  infancy,  (whose  wife  had  nursed  one  or 
more  of  the  children,)  and  who  resided  with  his  family  on  our 
farm  as  a  cottager,  came  to  the  house  and  spoke  privately  to 
my  father,  and  told  him  that  mischief  was  intended ;  that  if 
he  had  any  valuables,  such  as  plate,  &c.,  that  he  could  put 
away,  that  it  would  be  advisable,  which  might  ultimately  be 
of  use  to  some  of  the  family  ;  and  (if  I  mistake  not)  I  think 
he  offered  to  secrete,  under  the  protection  of  his  family,  some 
of  the  younger  children.  These  coming  from  such  authority, 
and  with  a  knowledge  of  Kehoe's  character,  were  awful 
intimations  ;  and  trying,  indeed,  to  the  feelings  of  my  dear 
parents,  and  those  of  us  who  heard  them.  A  consultation 
was  held,  and  it  appeared  to  my  dear  mother's  mind  desirable 
that  we  should  all  withdraw  at  midnight  from  our  dwelling, 
and  proceed  to  Forrest  Meeting-house,  where,  as  the  next 
day  was  that  of  the  week-day  meeting,  there  was  a  probabil- 
ity of  seeing  that  venerable  and  worthy  Friend,  (long  since 
deceased,)  Joseph  Poole,  whose  advice  might  be  rendered 
useful  and  subservient  to  fixing  a  proper  determination  in  such 
an  awful  crisis.  Such  being  my  dear  mother's  feelings,  we 
all  willingly  coincided,  and  left  the  house  on  our  pilgrimage, 
with  all  the  family,  about  the  hour  appointed — our  servant 


50 

girl  had,  from  fear  of  what  she  had  seen  and  heard,  deserted 
us.  The  night  was  starlight,  serene,  and  beautiful,  tending 
to  tranquillize  our  feelings  under  this  dispensation  of  Provi- 
dence. We  proceeded  quietly  in  our  route,  without  meeting 
any  person  along  the  public  road,  until  we  came  within  a 
short  distance  of  Taghmon,  where  the  Rebels  kept  guard, 
when  we  took  a  short  cut  across  the  fields,  leaving  #  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  right.  Just  as  we  got  in  a  direct 
line  with  it,  a  gun  was  fired  in  the  town,  which  gave  us  some 
alarm ;  but  it  did  not  appear  that  we  were  the  cause  of  it, 
and  we  passed  on,  and  reached  Forrest  Meeting-house  in 
safety,  where  we  opened  the  shutters,  &c.  of  one  of  the  win- 
dows, entered  the  house,  closed  them  again,  and  laid  ourselves 
down  in  the  gallery  to  take  some  repose,  and  await  with  res- 
ignation the  results  of  the  coming  day.  Early  in  the  morn- 
ipg,  the  girl  from  the  neighboring  house,  where  the  care-taker 
of  the  Meeting-house  lived,  came  to  open  the  shutters,  and, 
on  perceiving  persons  sitting  in  the  gallery,  was  much 
alarmed,  and  ran  away.  However,  my  father  went  down  to 
the  house,  and  explained  the  circumstance ;  we  all  soon  fol- 
lowed, and  took  some  refreshment.  Meeting  was  held  with- 
out interruption  at  the  usual  time,  which  our  venerable  Friend 
alluded  to,  with  his  family  and  some  others,  attended.  Our 
case  was  disclosed  to  him,  which  was  solemnly  considered, 
and  it  was  concluded  that,  situated  as  matters  were,  and  that 
the  same  protecting  hand  of  the  Almighty  was  every  ivliere,  it  was 
wisest  to  put  our  dependence  in  that  Power,  and  return  again 
to  our  home,  and  await  our  fate  with  fortitude  and  resigna- 
tion. We  therefore  returned,  passing  through  Taghmon,  met 
with  no  molestation,  and  found  all  at  our  house  quiet  and 
undisturbed.  In  the  evening,  my  father  received  a  friendly 
note  from  the  priest  of  Taghmon,  who  was  a  humane  man, 
expressing  his  regret  at  hearing  of  the  mischief  intended  him 
by  bad  characters  in  our  neighborhood,  and  stating  that  he 
had  sent  him  a  guard  to  protect  his  family  and  his  house, 
which  he  might  retain  if  he  thought  proper.  This  guard  was 
chiefly  composed  of  Protestants,  who  had  conformed,  and 
which,  I  suppose,  the  priest  thought  would  be  most  accepta- 
ble. My  father  felt  grateful  for  this  act  of  humanity  and 
friendship  ;  they  remained  that  night  in  the  house,  and  I  be- 
lieve only  that  one,  as  my  father  did  not  wish  to  interfere ; 
but  I  doubt  not,  this  conduct  of  the  priest,  being  publicly 
known,  tended  to  repress,  for  a  time,  the  malevolent  intentions 
of  those  wicked  men. 

"After  these  occurrences,  we  enjoyed  about  a  week  of 


51 

moderate  tranquillity ;  but,  about  the  end  of  that  time,  early 
one  morning,  before  we  were  up,  we  were  again  visited  by  a 
hostile  band,-  several  of  whom  were  on  horseback,  some 
neighbors  and  some  strangers.  They  got  admittance  at  the 
back  door,  where  they  kept  guard ;  and  four  or  five,  with 
pikes  and  fire-arms,  came  up  stairs,  where  we  were  in  bed. 
Their  pretence  was  alleged  to  be,  that  we  had  a  person  in  the 
house  who  was  inimical  to  them.  This  was  disavowed ;  but 
they  were  directed  to  search  by  my  father:  they  did  so,  but 
found  no  one,  as  they  were  at  first  informed.  They  appeared 
most  maliciously  angry,  and  one  of  them,  in  going  down 
stairs,  struck  his  pike  through  the  glass  of  the  clock,  and  into 
the  dial-plate,  the  mark  of  which  is  still  visible ;  others  of 
them  stabbed  some  tin  ware,  and  other  articles  in  the  kitchen ; 
and  after  this  they  all  went  away,  some  cursing  and  swearing, 
and  saying  they  could  not  conceive  or  understand  what 
prevented  them  doing  what  they  came  to  rfo,  or  words  to  the 
same  effect.  It  may  not  be  improper  for  me  here  to  notice 
an  observation  that  I  heard  my  dear  father  make  —  'that  he 
had  counted  all  the  stabs  given  to  the  different  articles  by 
these  people,  (after  their  departure,)  and  found  them  to  accord 
in  number  exactly  with  the  number  of  which  our  family 
consisted ! ' 

"This  was  the  last  visitation  of  this  nature  which  we 
experienced.  Their  diabolical  power  was  in  a  few  days  after 
annihilated,  and  good  order  restored,  under  the  constitutional 
authorities.  The  government  having  at  length  made  its 
military  arrangements,  the  army  advanced  towards  this  county 
in  different  directions.  Sir  John  Moore,  with  a  brigade  of 
thirteen  light  companies,  and  a  party  of  Hessians,  advanced 
from  Ross,  and  encamped  at  Longrage,  about  three  miles 
from  us.  We  had  notice  of  their  approach  to  our  neighbor- 
hood by  the  smoke  of  the  burning  of  cottages,  which  marked 
their  route,  and  which  is  generally  among  the  melancholy 
concomitants  of  war.  About  noon  the  next  day,  they  quitted 
their  encampment,  and  were  proceeding  on  their  march 
towards  Wexford,  when  they  were  apprized,  by  the  firing 
of  their  advanced  guard  of  Hessians  in  front,  of  the  enemy 
being  at  hand,  —  Roche,  the  Rebel  general,  having  advanced 
from  near  Wexford,  with  (it  was  said)  near  thirty  thousand  men, 
to  this  attack.  The  action  commenced  between  two  and 
three  o'clock.  P.  M.,  and  continued  about  three  hours.  The 
firing  of  cannon  and  musketry  was  heavy ;  and  the  contest, 
at  times,  from  the  shouts  of  the  Rebels,  appeared  doubtful. 
We  could  plainly  see  the  smoke  of  the  fire-arms  from  our 


52 

windows,  and  numbers  of  persons  in  retreat,  during  the  whole 
time,  crossing1  our  fields.  Several  called  at  the  house  for 
drink,  some  of  whom  were  wounded.  It  was  a  most  awful 
moment  for  us,  so  near  the  scene  of  action,  in  various  shapes. 
Had  any  of  the  army  observed  their  opponents  receiving 
refreshment  from  us  at  such  a  crisis,  it  might  have  had  serious 
consequences,  if  the  motive  were  ever  so  innocent  and 
inoffensive.  But  the  same  almighty  hand  that  had  so 
eminently  protected  us  in  other  instances,  was  not  shortened 
in  this,  and  we  were  suffered  to  remain  tranquil  and  un- 
molested. During  the  whole  time  of  this  calamity,  some 
of  our  family  regularly  attended  our  Meeting  at  Forrest, 
through  Taghmon;  which  we  did  without  receiving  any 
serious  molestation.  I  believe  a  few  instances  occurred,  in 
which  my  dear  mother,  from  weakness,  and  my  sisters,  did 
not  attend. 

"After  the  close  of  the  action  of  Fooksmill,  in  which 
several  hundreds  were  killed,  the  army  encamped  on  part  of 
the  h'eld  of  battle,  and  the  rebels  retreated  towards  Wexford, 
where  they  were  followed  the  next  day  by  Sir  John  Moore. 
This  day  was  also  fatal  to  their  cause  at  Vinegar  Hill,  from 
whence'  we  heard  the  cannon  resounding  soon  after  sunrise. 
This  combat  closed  their  career  in  the  county  of  Wexford. 

"  it  is  a  circumstance  worthy  of  remark,  that  some  of  those 
persons  who  had  been  so  ill  disposed  towards  us  before  their 
defeat,  actually  came  and  solicited  leave  to  hide  themselves, 
and  some  property,  in  our  out-buildings,  immediately  after 
the  battle  of  Fooksmill." 

A  female  Friend,  beinof  desired  by  a  Roman  Catholic 
clergyman  to  put  up  the  sign  of  the  cross,  which  was  worn 
by  their  party  at  that  time,  replied,  that  "  she  could  not  do  it. 
but  hoped  the  Almighty  might  be  pleased  to  enable  her  to 
bear  it"  On  this  he  did  not  urge  her  any  farther. 

An  elderly  Friend,  of  some  opulence,  who  came  to  reside 
in  England  soon  after  the  disturbances,  with  a  constitution 
much  debilitated  by  the  hardships  and  persecutions  he  had 
suffered  during  the  Rebellion,  on  two  occasions  had  to 
experience  signal  preservation.  —  His  house,  which  was 
situated  in  rather  a  lonely  part  of  the  country,  was  ransacked 
and  stripped  of  every  thing  valuable,  by  a  party  of  the 
Insurgents.  Some  hours  after  the  depredation,  another  party 
entered,  for  the  same  purpose ;  and  the  captain,  after  demand- 
ing the  property,  either  discrediting  the  Friend's  simple 
statement  of  what  had  already  occurred,  or  irritated  at  the 
disappointment,  raised  his  sword  to  murder  the  venerable 


ft 

man,  when  his  wife,  rising  from  her  seat,  with  much  emotion 
and  firmness  exclaimed,  "Thou  canst  not  touch  a  hair  of  my 
husband's  head,  unless  Divine  Providence  permit  thee."  The 
man  was  so  struck  by  her  Christian  fortitude,  that  he  let  the 
sword  drop  from  his  hand ;  and,  stooping  to  pick  it  up,  without 
uttering  a  word,  he  turned  away  quietly,  and  withdrew  his 
men.  On  another  occasion,  several  of  the  United  Irishmen 
entered  his  house,  and  insisted  that  he  should  undergo  the 
ceremony  of  Baptism  according  to  the  form  of  the  Romish 
Church.  As  he  refused  it,  they  behaved  very  roughly,  but 
left  him,  with  the  determination,  as  they  said,  of  coming 
again  in  a  few  days;  and,  if  he  then  refused,  that  they  would 
certainly  hang  him.  According  to  their  promise,  they  came 
again,  and  endeavored,  by  arguments  and  threats,  to  prevail 
upon  him  to  be  baptized,  but  in  vain.  They  then  said,  they 
certainly  would  hang  him  ;  but  some  trifling  matter  occurring 
among  themselves,  the  execution  of  their  design  was  deferred 
at  that  time  also,  and  they  left  him.  In  a  few  days  they 
returned  again,  and  he  was  told  that  they  had  now  resolved 
to  hang  him  before  they  left  the  house,  if  he  did  not  agree 
to  be  baptized;  and  they  actually  fastened  a  rope  round  his 
neck,  and  took  him  to  an  out-house,  where  there  was  a  beam, 
and  were  in  the  act  of  tying  him  up  to  the  beam,  when  an 
alarm  was  given  that  a  party  of  soldiers  was  coming,  which 
made  them  run  away ;  so  that  his  life  was  providentially 
saved. 

A  Friend,  living  in  a  retired  part  of  the  county  of 
Waterford,  had  a  large  family  of  young  children,  and  kept 
several  servants.  A  little  before  the  battle  of  Ross,  two  of 
the  nursery-maids,  Roman  Catholics,  left  the  house.  This 
circumstance  gave  some  alarm  to  the  family,  which  was, 
however,  mitigated  in  degree,  by  their  return  after  the  battle, 
in  which  the  United  Irishmen  were  defeated.  The  mistress 
interrogated  the  elder  of  the  servants  respecting  their  reasons 
for  thus  leaving  the  family,  at  a  time  and  in  a  state  of  such 
distress;  and  represented"  their  ingratitude,  after  having 
experienced  so  many  marks  of  kindness  from  their  master 
and  mi-tress,  during  a  period  of  some  years'  servitude.  The 
girl  acknowledged  it  all  with  many  tears ;  but  added, 
"  Mistress,  if  you  knew  all,  you  Avould  not  condemn  us." 
Some  d;iys  afterwards,  her  mistress  spoke  to  her  again,  and 
requested  her  to  be  more  explicit,  because  she  did  not 
understand  what  was  meant  by  the  words  "if  you  knew  all," 
&c.  And,  upon  urging  the  subject  in  a  very  kind  manner, 
5* 


64 

the  servant  burst  into  tears,  and  acknowledged  that  she  and 
her  fellow-servant  had  been  enjoined,  by  an  authority  to 
which  they  were  accustomed  to  yield  implicit  obedience, 
"  if  the  battle  of  Ross  was  favorable  to  the  Irish,  to  kill  the 
young  children:  and  this,"  said  she,  "  we  could  not  do:  you 
had  been  like  tender  and  kind  parents  to  us,  and  the  children 
we  loved  as  our  own ;  and  therefore  we  determined  to  leave 
the  house,  never  to  return  any  more,  if  the  battle  should  be 
favorable  to  the  Irish." 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  dangers  with  which  the 
members  of  the  Society  were  surrounded,  when  it  is  known, 
that,  with  few  exceptions,  their  domestic  servants,  being 
Roman  Catholics,  were  in  secret  league  with  the  Insurgents, 
and  daily  anticipating  the  overthrow  of  civil  and  religious 
power,  as  well  as  an  entire  change  of  property  in  their  own 
favor.  Hence  there  was  every  sordid  inducement,  that 
could  operate  upon  a  dark  and  interested  multitude,  to 
destroy  all  who  stood  in  their  way.  For  they  were  led, 
perversely  enough,  to  think,  that  the  destruction  of  one 
differing  in  religious  opinion,  was  the  performance  of  a 
religious  duty,  or  an  act  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God,  and 
would  coincide  with  their  temporal  interest.  It  is,  however, 
to  be  noticed,  that,  in  the  South  of  Ireland,  a  great  number 
of  the  Roman  Catholics,  in  the  better  classes  of  society, 
were  distinguished  for  their  loyalty  and  good  conduct; 
whilst,  in  the  North,  many  who  took  a"n  active  part  as  leaders 
in  the  sedition,  were,  by  profession,  Protestants.*  It  was 
chiefly  a  political  struggle  in  the  North,  and  religious,  more 
than  political,  in  the  South.  Hence  the  probability  is,  that, 
had  both  classes  been  victorious  against  the  lawful  govern- 
ment, yet,  with  such  distinct  and  incompatible  views,  they 
would  soon  have  turned  their  arms  against  each  other. 

A  servant-maid,  residing  with  a  Friend  in  Enniscorthy, 
who  had  been  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  murder 
of  the  male  part  of  a  Protestant  family,  with  whom  she  had 
formerly  lived,  having  pointed  out  to  some  of  the  pikemen 
such  windows  in  the  Friend's  house,  as  she  supposed  they 
could  fire  from  with  most  effect  upon  the  King's  troops,  he 
said  to  her,  "I  did  not  think  thou  wouldst  serve  me  so." 

*  Indeed,  some  of  the  leaders  in  the  South  were  Protestants, 
especially  the  Insurgent  General,  who  commanded  at  the  battle 
of  Ross ;  and  it  is  supposed  that  he  was,  in  some  degree, 
instrumental  in  restraining  the  cruelty  of  those  under  him. 


55 

Upon  which  she  told  her  mistress,  that  their  children  would 
be  fatherless  before  that  time  to-morrow.  Her  threats, 
however,  proved  to  be  vain. 

"At  length,"  says  an  eye-witness,  who  has  recorded  some 
of  these  events,  "the  time  approached  when  divine  inter- 
position was  remarkably  conspicuous  in  this  county.  Nearly 
three  weeks  the  rage  of  religious  bigotry  spread  itself  with 
fire  and  sword ;  and,  from  every  information  I  could  learn, 
and  from  concurring  circumstances,  it  appeared,  the  day  was 
fixed  for  a  general  massacre  of  every  class  who  were  not  of 
the  Romish  Church.  For,  said  they,  often  in  my  hearing, 
'  one  religion  only  shall  be  allowed.'  * 

"But,  on  the  eve  before  that  day,  the  King's  army  invested 
Vinegar  Hill,  and,  early  in  the  morning,  a  battle  ensued,  in 
which  the  United  Irishmen  were  totally  defeated  and  routed. 
The  King's  army  pursued  them  to  Wexford,  got  immediate 
possession  of  the  town,  and  rescued  many  of  the  poor  victim 
Protestants  from  present  death,  and  all  who  were  not  yet 
made  prisoners,  from  the  horrible  massacre  which  was  rapidly 
going  forward." 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  evils  produced  by 
contention,  even  to  those  whose  party  may  have  got  the 
ascendency,  when  it  is  known,  that  a  considerable  number 
of  the  Protestants,  who  had  been  taken  to  the  camp  of  the 
Rebels  at  Vinegar  Hill  as  prisoners,  were  put  to  death  by 
the  victorious  army,  through  ignorance,  or  through  want  of 
discrimination,  in  the  heat  of  pursuit;  as  every  one  in  a 
colored  coat  was  supposed  to  belong  to  the  Insurgents. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Testimonies  of  Friends  from  different  Parts,  including  a  Narra- 
tive of  Events  at  Ballitore,  and  a  few  Particulars  of  the  Bat- 
tles of  Ross  and  Antrim. 

THE  following  interesting  journal  of  the  events  that 
occurred  in  the  village  of  Ballitore,  was  kept  by  a  Friend 

*  "  On  that  morning,  a  standard,  or  black  flag,  was  carried 
through  the  streets  of  Wexford,  with  M.  W.  S.  in  large  letters 
inscribed  thereon;  the  meaning  supposed  to  be,  MURDER 
WITHOUT  SIN.  The  massacre  of  the  Protestant  prisoners  was 


residing  there,  who,  at  that  time,  had  the  care  of  a  lar^e 
establishment  for  the  education  of  youth,  chiefly  of  the 
Society ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that  he  endeavored  to  steer  a 
course  of  humanity  and  benevolence,  which  qualified  him 
to  interpose  his  good  offices,  with  effect,  on  several  occasions, 
for  the  preservation  of  those,  of  both  parties,  who  were  in 
imminent  danger  from  their  enemies. 

"1798.  — 24th  of  5th  mo.,  Fifth  day,  was  the  day  of  the 
general  rise  of  the  people  in  the  county  of  Kildare.  The 
occasion  of  their  rise  may  be  attributed  to  the  following 
causes :  For  a  long  time  back  the  people  of  the  country 
have  shown  a  disaffection  to  government,  particularly  the 
Presbyterians  in  the  north,  and  the  Romanists  almost 
universally.  Against  these  latter  the  rulers  seem  particular 
ly  exasperated,  because,  they  said,  that,  having  granted  them 
every  relaxation  of  the  penal  laws  against  Catholics,  that 
could  be  conveniently  allowed  them,  even  to  the  endangering 
of  the  constitution,  yet  they  were  dissatisfied ;  and  it  began 
to  be  suspected,  that,  instead  of  a  participation  of  rights 
with  Protestants  in  this  kingdom,  they  wanted  to  subvert  the 
constitution,  and  have  all  to  themselves.  It  was  also  thought, 
and  found  from  facts,  that  they  were  actually  in  league  with 
the  French,  the  avowed  enemies  to  the  constitution  estab- 
lished ;  and  that  they  looked  for  an  invasion  from  them,  to 
rise  and  join  them,  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  their  treason- 
able designs.  Government  therefore  determined  on  coercive 
measures,  that,  seeing  they  could  not  be  won  over,  they 
might  be  forced  or  frightened  into  obedience.  For  this 
purpose,  informers  were  employed  amongst  them,  who,  many 
of  them,  betrayed  innocent  men,  for  whom  they  entertained 
a  pique  or  enmity;  houses  were  searched  for  unlawful 
meetings,  arms,  and  papers ;  those  informed  against  were 
severely  whipped,  and  extorted  confessions  obtained :  hence, 
a  source  of  distress,  perfidy,  and  disaffection  was  opened ; 
the  minds  of  men  exasperated  against  each  other  in  the 
bitterest  manner:  hence,  jealousies,  and  cruel  retaliations  of 
injuries,  private  assassinations,  burning  of  houses,  by  each 
party;  the  wine  of  resentment  and  revenge  intoxicating 
even  men  of  the  soundest  heads  and  fairest  intentions.  The 

executing  at  WEXFORD,  and  did  not  discontinue  until  they  (the 
pike  men)  fled  from  the  King's  army.  It  was  said  they  were 
wading  in  their  blood  up  to  their  ankles  on  the  bridge  of 
Wexford." 


soldiery,  being  harassed  with  incessant  pursuit  of  those 
wretches,  thus  excited  by  their  cruelties  to  repeated  acts 
of  outrage,  were  hardly  restrained  by  their  officers  (when 
opportunity  offered)  from  destroying  the  people  with  indis- 
criminate slaughter. 

"  In  order  to  effect  their  purposes  of  coercion,  the  govern- 
ment had  fallen  on  a  gradation  of  punishment:  —  First, 
putting  soldiers  on  private  houses,  —  Secondly,  allowing 
them  free  quarters  there,  so  that  many  poor  people  left  their 
beds  to  the  soldiers  and  lay  upon  straw,  —  Thirdly,  burning 
their  houses,  on  intimation  of  disaffection,  or  proof  of  con- 
cealed arms, —  Fourthly,  whipping,  which  Avas  conducted 
with  such  severity,  that  many  said  they  would  prefer  to  be 
shot  at  once,  than  to  be  thus  tormented  to  death ;  and  many 
were  actually  taken  out  of  their  houses  and  put  to  immediate 
death. 

"  Things  were  in  this  state  at  the  time  of  the  date  above 
mentioned ;  the  government  requiring  the  people  to  bring  in 
concealed  arms,  to  entitle  them  to  protection,  with  which 
multitudes  complied,  but  still  many  were  concealed ;  when 
the  alarm  came  to  Colin  Campbell,  commanding  in  the 
county  of  Kildare,  and  stationed  at  Athy,  that  on  this  day 
there  would  be  a  general  rise. 

"  In  the  night  of  the  23d,  an  express  arrived  to  Captain 

C ,  of  the  Suffolk  Fencibles,  quartered  at  Ballitore,  to 

be  ready,  in  a  moment's  warning,  to  be  under  march  with  his 
men,  and  the  militia  also  under  his  command.  Thus  our 

very  agreeable  E C left  us,  to  be  exposed  to 

popular  resentment,  to  which  he  was  by  no  means  entitled, 
being  possessed  of  the  most  gentle,  conciliatory  dispositions, 
which  led  him  often  to  deplore  the  situation  he  was  placed 
in,  and  that  the  plundering  of  the  disaffected  (which  they 
called  foraging  from  them)  should  be  acted  under  his  direc- 
tions.* 

"Large  bodies  of  men  now  collected  in  different  places, 
armed  with  pikes  and  pitchforks,  with  a  few  swords,  muskets, 
and  bayonets,  some  of  which  had  been  forced  or  stolen  from 
the  soldiery.  The  Insurgents  waylaid  the  troops,  and  in 
some  places  killed  a  few  of  them ;  but  became  themselves  at 

*  "  Foraging  parties  were  dispersed  through  the  country ;  and 
a  hundred  cars,  laden  with  provisions,  (taken  from  the  people.) 
came  one  day  into  Ballitore.  It  was  the  scarce  time  of  the  year 
and  this  proceeding  caused  great  distress." 


68 

last  the  victims  of  slaughter ;  which  was  the   case   when 

C arrived  at  Kilcullen. 

"It  were  in  vain,  as  it  is  unimportant,  to  describe  the 
flying  engagements  which  took  place  in  several  places  on 
this  day.  At  Narramore  Wood,  Lieut.  Edie,  of  the  Tyrone 
militia,  had  smart  work,  and  was  well  nigh  cut  off  by  liers  in 
wait:  multitudes  were  slain  there  by  the  Insurgents.  The 
loyalists,  who  were  in  possession  of  the  Court-house  at 
Narramore,  took  the  captain  of  the  Insurgents  prisoner; 
upon  which  the  people  set  fire  to  all  the  houses  there;  and 
the  property  of  John  Jeffers,  a  stanch  man  to  the  constitu- 
tion, was  thereby  destroyed:  then  they  recovered  the 
captain,  and  took  some  prisoners.  When  they  were  dis- 
lodged from  Narramore  Wood,  the  Insurgents  took  the 
bog-road,  and  had  an  engagement  with  the  military  on 
march  on  the  high  road,  when  several  men  were  slain  of 
the  country  people. 

"  In  the  evening,  the  captain  of  the  Insurgents  collected 
his  forces  of  pikemen,  &c.,  in  the  plain  between  Narramore 
and  Ballitore,  to  the  number  of  two  or  three  hundred,  and 
marched  them  down  to  take  possession  of  Ballitore,  which 
was  this  morning  evacuated  by  the  soldiers.  A.  Shackleton. 
with  his  boys,  from  the  top  of  Nine-tree  Hill,  was  witness 
to  the  awful  procession,  not  knowing  to  what  lengths  the 
popular  transport  might  carry  an  exasperated  people.  So, 
letting  them  pass  by,  he  led  his  little  corps  of  infantry  (the 
dear,  alarmed  boys]  round  by  the  back  of  the  garden,  into  the 
house ;  and,  about  five  o'clock,  the  pikemen,  with  various 
descriptions  of  armor,  entered  his  parlor,  and  found  him 
sitting  with  his  family  and  the  dear  boys,  in  awful  quiet. 
They  behaved  with  respect,  but  asked  peremptorily  for 
provisions,  which  we  handed  out  to  them,  and  they  retired. 
Our  poor  neighbors,  fearing  pillage  of  property,  now  began 
to  flock  to  our  house ;  so,  as  my  school  was  small,  we  had 
room  to  accommodate  about  one  hundred  persons,  men, 
women,  and  children,  who,  day  and  night,  collected  up  and 
down  in  our  houses.  The  school-house,  a  large  room,  was 
given  up  to  them ;  so  that,  what  with  the  people  seeking  an 
asylum,  and  the  men  under  arms,  we  had  very  little  quiet,  or 
scarcely  any  thing  we  could  call  our  own. 

"  Such  were  the  important  events  of  the  24th ;  important 
to  us  and  our  little  community.  Our  minds  were  centred  in 
divine  dependence.  The  canopy  of  preserving  power  was 
evident  to  my  feeling  in  this  awful  crisis. 


59 

"25th,  Sixth  day,  morning.  —  Alarms  often  came  of  a 
military  force.  Our  horses  were  taken,  to  send  expresses  to 
explore  the  movements  of  the  army ;  our  poor  people  being 
generally  too  feeble  to  resist  the  shock  of  military  discipline, 
though  a  few  individuals  of  them  were  undaunted  and  tierce, 
from  the  memory  of  past  injuries,  or  the  expectation  of  future 
ones.  Some  of  these  latter  entered  my  house,  about  six 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  with  pistols,  to  bring  me  out  (as  they  said)  to 
fight  with  them ;  asked  me  where  was  my  pike ;  they  saw 
no  reason,  they  said,  that  I  should  indulge  in  quiet,  while 
they  exposed  "themselves  for  the  defence  of  my  property, 
&c.  &c. 

"  So  they  took  me  out,  and  two  honest  men  with  me,  I.  and 

T.  B ,  then  my  guests,  and  said  that  we  should  stand  in 

front  of  the  battle :  if  we  would  not  fight,  we  should  stop  a 
bullet  They  took  us  beyond  the  bridge,  to  the  side  of  the 
road;  our  people  following  us  with  their  eyes  and  tender 
affection ;  several  neighbors  and  faithful  Mary  Doyle  (an  old 
nurse)  coming  after,  interceding  for  our  return.  They  said 
that  I  could  not  be  spared  from  home,  and  from  the  care  of  so 
many  of  the  poor,  who  had  taken  sanctuary  in  my  house ; 
that,  as  to  my  fellow-prisoners,  they  ought  to  fight  at  home ; 
it  was  unreasonable  to  expect  them  to  fight  our  battles.  I 
told  the  men,  that,  as  to  myself,  I  felt  quite  undisturbed,  and 
I  had  no  displeasure  against  them,  who  did  it  ignorantly ; 
that  they  might  put  me  to  death,  as  I  was  in  their  hands,  but 
they  would  never  persuade  me  to  use  any  act  of  violence 
against  my  fellow-men.  At  length  they  were  persuaded  to 
liberate  us. 

"  Now,  they  entertained  the  idea  of  whipping  a  man  they 
called  an  informer,  whom  they  had  taken  prisoner,  and  made 
preparations  for  it,  on  the  principle  of  retaliation.  After 
some  persuasion,  they  were  induced  to  relinquish  this  idea, 
and  declared  that,  though  they  had  received  very  grievous  treat- 
ment, tJtey  ought  not  to  return  evil  for  evil.  As  I  applauded 
this  sentiment,  1  now  began  to  have  some  place  in  their 
minds.  It  was  satisfactory  to  find,  that  they  entertained  no 
worse  intent  than  obtaining  redress  to  the  grievances  they 
complained  of,  such  as  the  whipping  and  plundering  com- 
mitted on  them  by  the  military.  As  violence  was  likely  to 
be  inflicted  on  the  soldiers'  wives  left  in  the  town,  I  got  leave 
to  take  them  under  my  care ;  also  George,  a  servant  of 

Captain  C ,  a  sick  soldier,  and  another,  who  was 

servant  to  Lieut.  Gore.  The  two  young  women,  also  Anne 
Gore  and  Anne  Hemet,  the  latter  a  Jersey  woman,  wives  to 


60 

Gore  and  Hemet,  lieutenants  in  the  Suffolk  Militia,  shared 
the  hospitality  and  protection  of  our  house.  Thus  were  we 
variously  checkered  :  people  of  all  sides  and  all  descriptions 
coming  to  us.  So  that,  if  provisions  should  hold  out,  our 
garrison  was  pretty  well  manned.  Various  alarms  came 
to-day ;  —  it  was  suggested  that  cannon  were  coming  to 
destroy  the  house  over  our  heads ;  the  women  ded  out  of  the 
windows  into  the  garden,  and  all  was  confusion  and  dis- 
traction while  the  panic  held. 

"My  family  mostly  staid  by  me  in  the  parlor;  and 
supporting  quiet  was  witnessed,  sufficient  to  allay  the  noise 
of  the  waves  and  the  tumults  of  the  people. 

"The  wretched  people  were  now  grown  tired  of  their 
attempt ;  their  leader,  Capt. ,  had  deserted  them. 

"26th,  Seventh  day.  —  As  I  found  a  disposition  in  the 
people  to  listen  to  terms,  I  took  pains,  with  my  friends  of 
peacemaking  spirit,  to  prevail  on  the  people  to  send  to  the 
commanding  officer  to  sue  for  pardon.  I  drew  up  the 

following  lines,  which  I  proposed  to  the  ,  and  the 

people,  and  they  heartily  acceded  in  general.  I  told  them  it 
was  no  act  of  mine ;  I  only  proposed  it  to  them ;  I  wished 
them  to  return  to  peace,  but,  whatever  they  did,  they  must 
take  on  themselves  all  the  consequences.  The  lines  were  as 
follows:  — 

"  The  people  of  East  Naira  and  Rheban,  depending  on 
Colonel  Campbell's  lenity,  offer  unconditional  submission. 
They  acknowledge  they  have  been  misled,  and  have  perpetrated 
several  acts  of  outrage,  resentment,  and  retaliation,  which  they 
are  sorry  for.  They  hope  the  severe  measures  used  towards 
them  will  plead  an  excuse,  as  they  prefer  to  die  at  once,  than  to 
be  tormented  to  death.  They  hope  the  Colonel  will  now  consider 
their  case  as  entitled,  for  their  voluntary  obedience,  to  Royal 
mercy  and  clemency.  They  wish,  to  return  to  their  duty,  and 
to  their  lawful  occupations,  on  the,  same,  footing  they  formerly 
were. 

"  These  lines  were  also  shown  to  the  person  commanding 
in  the  town :  he  seemed  not  to  approve  of  them,  but  said  to 
me, 'Don't  m<erfere.'  However,  they  seemed  to  convey  the 
voice  of  the  people,  and,  as  such,  were  sent  by  an  express. 
Afterwards,  the  people  seemed  dissatisfied,  unless  some 
conditions  were  made  for  a  liberation  of  prisoners,  and 

J.  B offered  himself  to  go  to  Athy  with  further 

explanation;  but  this  was  not  allowed  at  the  time  pro- 
posed. 

"The  people  said  they  would  wait  for  the  answer  to  the 


61 

express.  Insolence,  even  in  (the  possession  of)  a  very 
precarious  power,  operates  on  the  leaders  in  popular  assem- 
blies ;  and  the  poor  people  are  still  miserable  victims  of  their 
misguided  measures.  The  express  returned  with  the  follow- 
ing answer:  — 

"  Colonel  Campbell  ronvei/ed  to  Mr.  J ,  of  Ballitore, 

his  decision  on  this  application  of  the  deluded  people  of  that 
place ;  and  if  they  will  la}/  down  their  arms,  of  every  kind,  in 
front  of  the  moat  'of  drdskull,  this  afternoon,  at  six  o'clock,  and 
retire  half  a  mile  'in  the  rear  of  it,  Colonel  Campbell  toill  send 
out  a  party  (as  he  proposed  yesterday)  to  receive  the  arms,  to 
prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  disaffected.  It  gives 
the  Colonel  much  pleasure  to  find,  that  the  people  have  at  last 
found  out  their  error,  and  that  they  have  been  imposed  on  by 
designing  men ;  and  he  will  not  fail  to  recommend  their  case  to 
his  Excellence/  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  and  he  will,  in  the  mean 
time,  afford  them  even]  protection  in  his  power.  Their  com- 
pliance with  this  proposal  will  save  much  blood,  as  they  must 
now  be  convinced,  from  their  late  attacks  on  the  outposts,  how 
impossible  it  is  to  make  any  impression  on  a  well-disciplined 
army. 

"  COLIN  CAMPBELL, 

"  Colonel,  commanding  at  Athy. 

«dthy,26ihMay,  1798. 

"The  yesterday's  proposal,  mentioned  in  the  letter,  wag 
never  generally  communicated  to  the  people ;  or  it  appears 
that,  besides  their  own  caprice,  they  labored  under  the  curse 
of  a  deceitful  mediator. 

"  About  six  o'clock  that  evening,  instead  of  the  arms, 
(as  proposed.)  the  people  concluded  on  sending  an  ambassador 
of  peace ;  and  J.  B.  consented  to  go  on  their  behalf.  About 
eleven  o'clock,  J.  B.  returned  with  the  following  lines  from 
Colonel  Campbell :  — 

"  Colonel  Campbell  is  disposed  to  treat  unth  the  deluded  people 
of  the  county  of  Kildare,  and  there  shall  be  a  truce  till  twelve 
o'clock  to-morrow,  provided  six  of  the  most  respectable  of  their 
people  are  sent  here,  on  the  return  of  Finend  J.  B.  to  Ballitore, 
who  shall  be  fapt  as  hostages  for  the  performance  of  the  proposals 
within  staled :  —  A  return  of  the  number  in  arms  of  the  two 
Baronies  who  implore  forgiveness  to  be  sent  to  Colonel  Campbell 
to-morrow  at  eight  in  the  morning ;  and  this 
6 


62 

not  be  looked  on  as  binding,  if  they  afterwards  admit  any 
of  their  disaffected  neighbors  into  the  Baronies  of  JEast  Naira 
and  Wieban. 

"  COLIN  CAMPBELL,  Colonel. 
"  C.  C.'s  patrols  with,  letters  not  to  be  intercepted. 

"  This,  coming1  so  late,  could  not  well  be  communicated  to 
the  people,  who  were  scattered  every  where.  I  took  it  to  the 
priest,  who  lodged  in  the  town,  and  who  appeared  all  the  day 
of  wavering  counsels ;  —  sometimes,  before  us,  persuading  the 
people  to  surrender,  and,  at  other  times,  apart,  haranguing 
them  to  opposite  measures :  here  was  another  mischief  that 
attended  the  deluded  people.  Some  of  the  principal  men 
I  had  got  that  day  closeted ;  they  spoke  reasonably,  and  were 
inclinable  for  treaty,  more  or  less,  according  to  their  respective 
clearness  of  understanding. 

"  Whelan,  a  turbulent  man,  with  a  blunderbuss,  greatly 
annoyed  our  domestic  councils.  As  I  spoke  to  the  people 
from  an  upper  window,  to  enforce  the  mild  offers  of  govern- 
ment, I  feared  once  that  he  would  discharge  his  mischievous 
engine  at  me.  But  Providence  preserved.  Thus  I  am  again 
tracing  back  the  operations  of  the  26th,  in  order  to  account 
for  the  fatality,  which,  like  a  fiery  comet,  drew  a  train  of 
disastrous  circumstances.  These  wavering  counsels  of  some, 
and  the  hot  spirits  of  others  of  our  demagogues,  occasioned 
that  this  last  requisition  came  too  late  for  the  people  to  send 
in  their  hostages  ;  for,  though  it  was  possible  to  collect  them, 
yet,  who  could  tell  whether  the  people  would,  after  all,  com- 
ply with  the  terms?  And  thus  the  hostages  were  at  stake 
for  the  deception,  and  the  people  would  ultimately  perish. 
So  it  was  concluded  to  send  in  the  hostages  in  the  morning. 

"  The  morning  arrived,  full  of  portentous  calamity  to  this 
neighborhood.  About  three  o'clock  the  priest  called  me  up, 
and  told  me  the  army  was  certainly  at  hand.  On  the  first 
intimation  of  it,  the  people  fled  and  dispersed  on  every  hand ; 
so  that,  if  the  hostages  were  then  in  time,  it  would  be  hard  to 
collect  them,  and  still  harder  to  concentre  the  wavering  reso- 
lutions of  the  people.  The  poor  priest  appeared  in  great 
dismay.  He  requested  to  borrow  my  coat,  but,  when  I  went 
for  it,  he  was  gone.  He  fled  towards  Narramore ;  the  lion 
was  there  ;  the  thundering  cannon  had  already  been  planted 
that  morning  early  against  Narramore  house,  the  new  un- 
finished mansion  of  Maurice  Keatinge,  which  they  (with  the 
assistance  of  fire)  demolished ;  Carrol  and  some  others,  who 


had  taken  shelter  there,  being  either  shot  or  dispersed.  The 
priest  now  fled  to  Ephrairn  Boakes,*  and  hid  in  the  garden  ; 
but,  thinking  that  place  unsafe,  he  lay  down  in  one  of  the 
clumps  before  Ephraim's  door,  and  there  waited  till  the  bit- 
terness of  death  was  past.  But  to  return  to  Ballitore  :  us  the 
army  from  Carlow,  consisting  of  horse  and  foot,  moved  slowly 

down  the  hill,  I  proposed  to  J B ,  that  he  and  I  should 

go  forth  to  meet  them ;  which  we  did,  also  the  Phelps's  and 
Samuel  Eves,  then  with  us.  The  commanding  officer,  Major 
Dennis,  rode  on  to  meet  us  with  a  pistol  in  his  hand,  and, 
stopping  near  us,  asked  who  commanded  in  the  town.  He 

was  answered  by  J B ,  that  'the  town  had  been 

for  these  few  days  in  the  hands  of  the  Insurgents  ;  but  as  to 
us,'  said  he,  'we  are  only  passengers.'  —  'It  happened  well 
for  you,  gentlemen,'  said  he,  'that  it  is  so,  or  I  should  have 
shot  you  every  man.'  (It  appears  that  he  had  previously 
given  orders  to  shoot  every  man  in  colored  clothes.) 

"  I  was  no  passenger,  yet  I  did  not  then  find  it  prudent  to 
set  him  right.  He  then  desired  that  some  beer  or  other  re- 
freshment should  be  had  for  the  soldiers.  We  showed  him 
the  letter  we  had  from  Colin  Campbell,  and  got  up  Col. 
Wolseley,  then  a  lodger  in  my  house,  to  speak  to  him  ;  thus 
his  wrath  was  averted.  He'  desired  the  army  to  halt ;  the 
officers  rode  up  for  drink,  and  they  moved  away. 

"  This  woe  past,  the  bitter  cup  of  vengeance  was  handed 
from  another  quarter.  Col.  Campbell,  not  finding  the  hos- 
tages sent  as  he  desired,  marched  his  army  in  the  night  to 
patrol  the  country,  and  came  down  from  Narramore  on  us, 
about  five  or  six  o'clock,  bringing  fire  and  desolation  wher- 
ever they  came.  The  houses  were  generally  burned,  and 
many  of  the  people  shot,  I  suppose,  almost  all  who  appeared, 
whether  guilty  or  not  of  the  crime  of  disaffection.  The  offi- 
cers came  into  our  house  and  recognized  their  old  friends, 
while  the  soldiery  were  spreading  terror  among  the  people. 
Poor  Hannah  Haughton  they  plundered ;  her  innocency 
pleading  in  vain  for  her.  The  soldiers  had  got  information 
concerning  the  commander  of  the  town ;  he  (simple  man !) 
met  them  in  the  street,  and  was  instantly  put  to  death.  The 

*  E.  B.  was  un  aged  neighbor,  long  since  deceased,  who  had 
united  his  endeavors  with  those  of  A.  S.  and  his  friends,  first  to 
moderate,  and  then  to  protect,  the  misguided  people.  —  The  ar- 
my, which  was  approaching  at  this  time,  was  from  Carlow,  lying 
in  a  direction  opposite  to  Athy,  where  Colonel  Campbell  com- 
xoand«d. 


64 

houses  in  the  burrow  were  now  consumed  ;  the  inhabitants 
hid  and  escaped.  My  neighbor,  who  had  taken  me  prisoner 
two  days  before,  now  came  on  his  knees  to  rne  :  he  had  just 
escaped  death ;  pleading  merit  for  having  saved  the  life  of  a 
soldier ;  by  and  by  he  and  his  wife  came  flying,  and  seemed 
closely  pursued  ;  as  it  was  said,  the  wife  had  wounded  a  sol- 
dier, who  attempted  to  take  a  ring  from  her  and  abuse  her. 
I  told  her,  she  must  hide  somewhere  else  out  of  the  house,  or 
it  might  be  burned  in  their  fury. 

"In  a  few  minutes  this  dreadful  scene  opened  and  closed; 
and  they  passed  on.  It  resembled  the  operation  of  lightning, 
—  fierce  and  terrible,  and  over  in  a  moment! 

"  Colonel  Campbell  then  led  his  army,  clad  in  terrible  ar- 
ray, round  by  Crookstown,  spreading  death  and  destruction 
wherever  they  came  ;  and  so  passed  on  to  Athy  ;  the  minis- 
tration of  vengeance  being  let  fall  on  devoted  Ballitore  and 
its  neighborhood,  notwithstanding  that  the  most  of  the  people 
who  were  guilty  of  these  outrages,  and  of  opposition  to  gov- 
ernment, came  from  a  distance.  Thus,  having  suffered  the 
woe  of  rebellion  first,  we  fell  under  the  greater  woe  of  vin- 
dictive punishment.  Here  was  an  afflicting  sight  for  the 
poor  people  to  behold, —  all  their  little  stock  reduced  to 
ashes! — the  little  provisions  for  their  future  wants:  for 
some  of  them  had  not  removed  their  goods  ;  others,  more 
wisely,  had  foreseen  the  threatened  calamity.  Yet  the  sur- 
vivors (so  sweet  is  life!)  consoled  themselves  that  they  were 
alive,  and  now  only  sought  about  to  find  what  they  could  do 
to  avert  a  repetition  of  the  visit  which  might  deprive  them 
of  life. 

"Ephraim  Boakes  and  I  undertook  to  treat  for  them,  and 
we  went  to  Athy.  When  we  arrived  there,  we  were  con- 
gratulated that  we  were  alive  ;  they  had  been  told  that  when 
the  army  withdrew,  the  rebels  had  returned  and  burned  every 
house  which  the  army  had  spared: — this  we  were  able  to 
contradict.  Anne  Gore  and  Anne  Hemet  were  particularly 
overjoyed  to  see  me,  and  met  me  with  hugs  and  embraces  ; 
the  polite  Col.  Wolseley  and  his  lady  made  grateful  ac- 
knowledgments for  our  care  of  them.  My  beloved  friend, 
Dorcas  Fitzgerald,  I  was  glad  to  see,  and  she  me  ;  also  dear 
T.  and  D.  Chandley,  and  many  more  :  —  Affliction  unites  in 
one.  Col.  Campbell  received  well  our  proffered  treaty.  It 
was  concluded,  that  he  should  come  with  a  detachment  of 
troops,  to  the  high  ground  on  the  road  at  Ardskull,  on  the  4th 
day  following,  at  twelve  o'clock ;  that  all  persons,  desirous  of 
laying  down  their  arms,  should  deposit  them  on  the  gravel 


65 

hill  in  Ballindrum  bog,  and  retire  to  the  road  on  Ballindrum 
hill ;  that  when  the  officer  had  taken  up  the  arms,  the  people 
should  come  forward  in  a  body  and  sign  an  engagement  for 
future  good  conduct;  Col.  Campbell  should  then  immediately 
recommend  them  to  government ;  and  the  utmost  possible 
lenity  should  be  used  towards  them :  two  hostages  should 
be  sent  to  Athy  that  day  to  confirm  the  good  resolutions  of 
the  people.  These  terms,  after  some  conversation  with  the 
Colonel,  in  which  he  spoke  kindly  and  mildly,  we  carried 
home  ;  and  met  the  people  at  an  hour  appointed  for  reading 
them.  The  people  rejoiced  at  the  very  sound  of  peace,  and 
promised,  that  if  any  hereafter  should  conceal  arms,  or  at- 
tempt to  destroy  their  loyalty,  they  would  lend  every  aid  to 
take  up  such  persons  and  bring  them  to  justice.  They  were 
then  sent  home  to  convince  all  their  neighbors ;  for  which 
the  day  following  was  alloAved  ;  and  they  were  desired  to 
come  on  4th  day  morning,  with  their  weapons  of  every  kind, 
that  Ephraim  and  I  might  conduct  them  to  the  place  appointed. 
With  this,  they  cheerfully  complied.  We  met  the  Colonel 
and  his  troops';  the  whole  business  Avas  conducted  with  good 
order ;  the  people  gratefully  received  the  gracious  smiles  and 
approbation  of  the  Colonel;  protections  were  given  separate- 
ly to  every  respective  townland  ;  and  the  people  came  away 
as  after  a  triumphant  victory.  The  insidious  artifices  of  one 
man  (Mich.  Walter)  had  like  to  have  disconcerted  the  whole 
plan :  he  came  riding  post  haste,  as  express,  to  tell  the  peo- 
ple, that,  if  they  staid  there,  they  were  all  to  be  killed  ;  and 
for  this,  he  said,  he  had  orders  from  General  Dundas  ;  but 
his  villanous  artifice  was  defeated  by  the  activity  of  Ephraim 
Boakes ;  the  man  was  taken  and  given  up  to  the  Colonel, 
who  ordered  him  to  be  conducted  to  Athy. 

"At  the  time  the  arms  were  given  in,  A.  S.  handed  the 
following  address  to  Col.  Campbell :  — 

"'Abraham  Shackleton  begs  leave  to  address  Colonel 
Campbell  on  a  subject  that  is  of  vast  importance,  as  he  con- 
ceives, to  the  general  weal  —  the  preservation  of  the  people. 
He  has  seen,  with  great  anxiety,  old  distinctions  of  religious 
names  revived.  He  believes  that  there  does  not  exist  that 
dark  spirit  of  persecution  among  the  people  which  is  attribu- 
ted to  them,  but  a  spirit  of  retaliation,  in  many,  fur  real  or 
imagined  injuries.  It  is  said,  that  they  had  formed  a  con- 
spiracy for  a  general  massacre :  no  such  disposition  was  ap- 
parent the  two  days  that  we  of  this  town  were  entirely  in 
their  power.  Why  did  they  not  proceed  then  to  a  massacre  ? 
Why  did  they  not  revenge  the  injuries  they  said  they  had 
6* 


66 

received  ?  They  spared  to  whip  one  man,  who,  they  said, 
was  an  informer ;  they  forbore  to  whip  the  soldiers'  wives, 
when  that  cruel  retaliation  was  suggested  by  the  women  of 
the  town;  they  offered  no  injuries  to  the  officers'  wives 
in  my  house,  nor  to  the  sick  soldier  and  two  officers'  servants 
with  me.  A.  S.  believes  that  no  such  conspiracy  exists,  and 
that  it  is  conceived  only  in  the  fears  of  men  of  property,  who 
are  alarmed  at  the  thoughts  of  losing  it.  He  believes  that, 
by  mild  treatment,  the  people  may  be  made  useful  to  us,  and 
happy  in  themselves.  They  have  found  the  folly  of  resist- 
ance. They  are  used  to  live  low  — facilem  victu  per  secula 
gentem.  Let  them  live,  and  live  comfortably;  —  they  will 
not  aspire  higher ;  they  will  be  hands  and  feet  to  us.  In- 
deed, all  orders  and  classes  of  society  want  reformation.  —  If 
the  money  laid  out  in  spacious  buildings,  cultivating1  fine 
gardens  and  pleasure-grounds,  were  some  of  it  expended  in 
cultivating  the  morals  of  the  people,  what  a  happy  harvest 
of  blessings  would  it  not  produce  to  the  cultivators !  If  the 
rich  did  not  insult  the  poor  by  their  wanton  extravagance 
and  riot,  the  two  orders  of  society  would  coalesce,  and  re- 
ligious distinctions  would  not  be  so  much  as  thought  of.' " 

From  the  foregoing  narrative  it  appears  that  the  pacific  la- 
bors of  this  worthy  Friend  and  his  associates  were  blessed  in 
many  instances.  An  inmate  and  relative  of  his  family  thus 
expresses  herself:  —  "Neighbors,  rich  and  poor,  and  persons 
of  all  parties,  a  hundred  in  all,  sheltered  peacefully  together 
under  my  brother's  roof.  Some  of  these  were  prisoners  cap- 
tured on  their  journey  :  one  of  their  carriages  being  drawn 
down  and  their  luggage  carried  —  all  safely  deposited,  per- 
sons and  property,  with  my  brother." 

"Col.  Wolseley  and  his  lady,  the  wives  of  two  lieutenants, 
also  the  wives  of  two  privates,  and  a  sick  soldier,  were  in  this 
way  protected  under  his  roof,  whilst  their  enemies  had  pos- 
session of  the  town.  And  when  the  place  was  given  up  to 
the  fury  of  the  soldiers,  to  be  pillaged  and  burnt,  an  officer, 
who  had  been  at  Ballitore  School,  had  placed  sentinels  to 
protect  the  houses  of  Friends :  the  house  of  one  poor  female 
they  forgot,  till  it  was  too  late  to  save  her  little  property  from 
destruction. 

"  When  I  first  saw  our  house  filling  with  the  Insurgents, 
soon  after  they  came  in,  I  told  them  I  was  frightened  at  the 
sight  of  so  many  armed  men  ;  and,  without  showing  displeas- 
ure, they  answered,  '  We  will  be  off  in  a  shot,'  (meaning  di- 
rectly,) and  presently  withdrew,  after  they  had  got  milk  ;  and 


67 

one  of  them  cut  the  bread  I  brought  out,  distributing  it  among 
them  with  the  advice,  'Be  decent,  boys,  be  decent.'  I  met 
with  this  man  afterwards,  as  he  stood  a  sentinel,  and  threat- 
ened to  shoot  a  man  of  his  own  party,  who  walked  beside  me, 
if  he  passed  the  bounds.  I  asked  him,  If  I  went  on,  would  he 
shoot  me  ?  He  expressed  affectionate  surprise  at  my  asking 
such  a  question,  and  pronounced  a  eiilogiurn  on  Quakers. 
I  told  him  it  would  be  well  if  they  were  all  of  our  way  of 
thinking ;  for  then  there  would  be  no  such  work  as  the  pres- 
ent. His  reply,  incoherent,  as  it  was,  I  could  understand, 
'Ay,  but  you  know  —  our  Savior  —  the  scourges  —  Oh!  the 
scourges !  * 

"  The  Insurgents  sometimes  attempted  to  soothe  our  female 
fears,  shaking  us  by  the  hand,  and  declaring  they  would  burn 
those  that  would  burn  us.  My  mother,  in  her  state  of  second 
childhood,  was  respectfully  treated  by  them  ;  also,  when  the 
army  came,  a  soldier  begged. leave  of  his  officers  to  visit  'the 
old  mistress:'  —  he  had  been  quartered  on  her.  The  Insur- 
gents took  our  bridles  and  saddles,  but  nothing  else  besides 
food.  A  man,  with  a  naked  sword,  demanded  from  me  my 
own  riding  mare  ;  I  told  him,  I  had  lent  her  to  one  of  the 
officers  ;  and  another  vouching  for  my  veracity,  he  was  satis- 
fied and  went  away.  Others  applied  for  any  thing  of  a  green 
color.  I  told  them  we  could  not  join  any  party.  —  'What, 
not  the  strongest?'  — '  No.  none  at  all.'  Arid,  though  our 
tables  were  covered  with  green  cloths,  they  forbore  to  urge 
the  request." 

In  addition  to  this  testimony,  the  author  is  credibly  in- 
formed, "  that  A.  S.  and  his  colleagues  in  the  work  of  peace, 
continued  to  interpose  their  good  offices  afterwards,  when 
judicial  proceedings  were  gleaning  the  refuse  of  the  sword ; 
and  had  the  satisfaction  of  contributing  to  save  many  of  their 
neighbors  from  death.  A  man  who  was  tried  by  a  court  mar- 
tial, ascribed  his  acquittal  to  a  note  in  his  favor  from  the 
sister  of  A.  S.  The  officer  who  took  it,  glanced  at  the  sig- 
nature, and  exclaimed  that  women  cared  not  what  they  said; 
and  then,  observing  the  date,  remarked,  that  it  was  from  a 
Quaker,  and  that  Quakers  never  lie" 


A  FRIEND  of  great  respectability  in  the  county  of  West- 
meath,  living  in  a  wild,  thinly-inhabited  district,  not  far  from 
the  town  of  Moate,  has  given  the  following  striking  testimony 
from  his  own  observations  at  that  period.  —  "  All  thpse  in  this 
quarter  who  professed  principles  of  peace,  were  marvellously 


spared  from  extreme  suffering  ;  some  living  in  solitary  places 
surrounded  by  that  class  who  were  very  generally  in  a  state 
of  rebellion.  Some,  so  circumstanced,  could  not  leave  their 
usual  habitations,  though  strongly  urged  by  their  few  Protes- 
tant neighbors  to  flee  with  them  to  garrison  towns.  O  !  the 
heart-rending  scenes  some  such  have  witnessed  ;  their  neigh- 
bors, running  hither  and  thither  with  their  families  and  goods, 
and  calling  upon  me  to  flee  from  certain  destruction  !  Yet 
some  were  favored  with  faith  and  patience  to  abide  in  their 
lots,  conscientiously  adhering  to  the  revealed  law  of  their 
God  ;  and  thus  did  experience,  to  their  humbling  admiration, 
the  name  of  the  Lord  to  be  a  strong  tower,  in  which  they 
found  safety.  I  could,  with  wonder,  love,  and  praise,  relate 
some  marvellous  deliverances  mercifully  vouchsafed  to  me 
when  surrounded  by  numerous,  and,  at  other  times,  by  smaller 
bodies  of  armed  men  in  open  rebellion,  and  when  no  human 
being  of  any  other  description  was  near  ;  yet  through  divine 
aid,  and  that  alone,  was  I  enabled  to  refuse  to  take  up  arms 
or  take  their  oaths,  or  join  them,  assigning  as  a  reason,  that  I 
could  not  fight  nor  swears/or  or  against  them.  They  threat- 
ened—  they  pondered  —  they  debated,  —  marvelled,  and  ul- 
timately liberated  me,  though  they  said  I  was  in  the  power 
of  many  thousands  then  assembled. 

"  When  travelling  alone,  I  have  sometimes  seen  such  peo- 
ple armed  with  pikes  ;  we  have  looked  seriously  at  each  other, 
and  passed  without  speaking." 


BATTLE    OF    ROSS. 

According  to  the  testimony  of  a  respectable  inhabitant  of 
Ross,  Friends  of  this  town  were  placed  in  a  different  situation 
from  some  others  of  their  religious  profession  in  other  parts 
of  the  county  of  Wexford  ;  inasmuch  as  the  town  was  occu- 
pied by  a  large  military  force,  and  not  at  any  period  in  the 
possession  of  the  Insurgents,  except  partially  and  at  intervals 
during  the  day  of  the  memorable  battle  which  continued 
with  but  little  cessation  for  nearly  the  space  of  twelve  hours. 
For  a  considerable  part  of  this  time,  it  was  matter  of  awful 
uncertainty  which  party  would  ultimately  prevail.  But,  at 
the  very  juncture  when  the  town  was  mostly  abandoned  by 
the  king's  troops,  who,  from  the  violence  and  great  length  of 
the  conflict,  together  with  the  intense  heat  of  the  weather 
fcnd  other  causes,  had  become  so  fatigued  and  exhausted,  as 


generally  to  give  it  up,  and  to  retire  to  the  bridge,  in  order  to 
secure  their  retreat  into  Munster,  the  assailing  multitude, 
composed  of  many  thousands,  were  observed  to  betake  them- 
selves to  flight,  without  any  apparent  cause,  either  then  or 
since  discovered.  On  being  assured  of  this  remarkable  cir- 
cumstance, the  king's  troops  were  prevailed  upon  to  return; 
and  they  took  possession  of  their  former  posts,  under  some 
decree  of  astonishment  at  finding  themselves  left  undisputed 
masters  of  the  town.  General  Johnson,  who  commanded,  is 
reported  to  have  said,  that  the  success  of  that  day  was  to  be 
referred  to  Providence,  and  was  not  the  work  of  man. 

During  this  bloody  conflict,  in  which  it  is  stated  from  good 
authority  that  upwards  of  2000  persons  were  killed,  the  town 
was  set  on  fire  in  different  quarters,  and  the  flames  spread 
with  such  uncontrolled  fury,  as  to  threaten  a  frightful  devas- 
tation. Yet  amidst  so  many  imminent  and  combined  dangers, 
Friends  were  generally  preserved  in  a  quiet  and  resigned 
state  of  dependence  upon  that  Almighty  Power  which  could 
alone  afford  protection  in  such  an  awful  crisis.  Protection 
was,  indeed,  wonderfully  experienced,  as  was  foretold  by 
several  ministers  of  the  Society,  during  their  religious  labors 
in  the  country,  some  years  before  this  calamity  took  place. 
One  Friend,  in  particular,  was  heard  to  declare  in  gospel  au- 
thority, "  that  in  a  time  of  trial,  which  was  approaching,  if 
Friends  kept  their  places,  many  would  be  glad  to  take  shelter 
under  the  skirts  of  their  garments."  This  prediction  was 
now  literally  fulfilled  ;  for  many  respectable  neighbors,  on  the 
evening  of  the  battle,  apprehending  themselves  not  so  secure 
in  their  own  houses  as  in  those  of  Friends,  flocked,  with  their 
families,  to  the  latter,  thinking  the  Insurgents  would  probably 
return  and  make  another  attack  on  the  town  in  the  night. 
Some  of  them,  belonging  to  an  armed  association,  and  clad 
in  a  military  garb,  readily  acquiesced  with  the  proprietors* 
remonstrances,  and  assumed  a  dress  of  more  peaceable  ap- 
pearance. And  there  was  reason  to  believe,  that  after  expe- 
riencing such  an  unexpected  deliverance,  their  minds  were 
made  sensible  that  the  power  or  strength  of  man  was  at  such 
a  time  of  little  avail,  and  that  Providence  alone  was  able  to 
protect  and  to  rescue  from  such  muninent  danger. 

Many  facts  might  be  stated,  to  show  the  impressions  which 
the  people,  or  at  least  those  who  were  apprehensive  for  their 
personal  safety,  generally  entertained,  that  the  peaceable- 
dress  of  the  Society  would  afford  protection  in  these  perilous 
times :  the  following  instance  may  be  mentioned. 

In  the  house  of  a  Friend,  near  Enniscorthy,  there  lodged  a 


70 

Protestant  Clergyman,  a  man  of  sober,  moral  character,  with 
his  wife.  When  he  saw  the  danger  approaching,  he  request- 
ed that  the  clothes  of  a  Friend  might  be  given  him,  expecting 
that  in  such  a  dress  he  might  be  preserved,  or  at  least  might 
be  able  to  effect  his  escape.  But  it  was  remarked  to  him 
that  such  a  disguise  could  be  of  no  advantage ;  and  he  hid 
himself  in  the  garden,  by  the  river  side,  where  he  was  found 
and  murdered. 


BATTLE    OF    ANTRIM. 

The  town  of  Antrim  was  the  only  considerable  place  in 
the  North,  during  the  year  of  the  Rebellion,  in  which  any 
members  of  the  Society  were  placed  in  serious  difficulties 
immediately  between  the  contending  parties.  One  family, 
however,  consisting  of  a  very  young  man,  and  his  sisters, 
whose  father  was  then  engaged  in  a  religious  visit  in  Amer- 
ica, was  preserved  in  a  remarkable  manner  during  the  con- 
flict which  took  place  in  this  town. 

On  the  day  of  the  battle,  when  it  was  announced  that  the 
Rebels  were  approaching,  few  of  the  regular  army  being  then 
in  the  place,  expresses  were  sent  off  in  different  quarters  for 
assistance.  A  regiment  of  cavalry  arrived  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  engagement,  but  was  not  able  to  make 
any  effectual  stand  against  the  force  opposed  to  it.  Orders 
were  issued  to  the  inhabitants  to  close  their  doors  and  win- 
dows, and  to  remain  in  their  houses.  About  one  o'clock  in 
the  day,  the  Rebels  marched  into  the  town,  and  their  appear- 
ance caused  a  general  dismay,  so  that  horror  seemed  to  be 
pictured  in  every  countenance. 

It  was  the  design  of  this  family  to  remain  in  their  house, 
until  they  discovered  that  the  action  had  commenced,  and 
that  the  Insurgents'  cannon  was  placed  in  the  street  directly 
opposite  to  their  door.  As  the  house  seemed  to  be  in  immi- 
nent danger,  they  thought  of  taking  refuge  in  the  fields. 
This  step  would,  however,  have  been  attended  with  great 
personal  risk,  and  was  happily  prevented;  for  the  yard  was 
so  full  of  Rebels  that  the  family  could  not  well  pass  by  them  ; 
and  after  making  an  effort  to  escape,  the  females  returned 
into  the  house  ;  but  their  brother  was  shut  out  amongst  the 
crowd.  And,  notwithstanding  they  were  in  the  heat  of  action 
at  the  time,  they  neither  asked  him  to  take  up  arms  and  join 
them,  nor  did  they  offer  him  the  least  degree  of  violence. 


71 

He  afterwards  got  into  the  stable,  and  endeavored  to  secure 
himself  by  holding1  down  the  latch  with  his  hand  till  one 
of  his  sisters  ventured  out  and  brought  him  into  the  house, 
—  to  their  great  joy,  as  they  never  expected  to  see  him  again 
alive. 

Immediately  after  they  had  given  up  the  intention  of  going 
into  the  fields,  and  were  entering  the  house,  a  wounded  Rebel 
came  in  along  with  them,  and  staid  with  them  the  remaining 
time  of  the  engagement.  Though  they  endeavored  to  per- 
form the  duties  of 'humanity  to  a  suffering  fellow-creature, 
they  felt  their  situation  to  be  full  of  difficulty  as  well  as  of 
danger  on  his  account,  not  knowing  how  soon  his  enemies 
might  prevail,  and  find  him  under  their  protection.  The 
Rebel,  who  was  a  respectable  person,  strove  to  encourage 
them  by  saying,  they  need  not  be  at  all  alarmed,  for  that,  he 
was  sure,  as  they  were  an  inoffensive  people,  and  did  not 
meddle  on  either  side,  they  would  not  meet  with  any  injury. 

At  this  time,  the  Rebels  had  gained  possession  of  the  town, 
having  obliged  the  regiment  of  cavalry  to  retreat,  after  a 
very  deadly  encounter,  in  which  about  one  third  of  the  regi- 
ment, in  the  short  space  of  a  few  minutes,  was  either  killed 
or  severely  wounded  ;  but  it  was  not  long  before  a  reinforce- 
ment of  the  Monaghan  and  Tipperary  Militia  entered  the 
town  ;  and,  seeing  the  Rebels  beginning  to  yield,  they  acted 
with  great  cruelty,  neither  distinguishing  friends  nor  enemies, 
but  destroying  every  one  who  appeared  in  colored  clothes. 
In  a  very  short  time  they  dispersed  the  Insurgents,  and  retook 
the  town. 

Numbers,  who  were  not  in  any  way  concerned,  lost  their 
lives,  for  the  soldiers  showed  pity  to  none  ;  they  fired  into 
the  nouses  of  the  inhabitants,  and  killed  many  ;  those  who 
took  refuge  in  the  fields  suffered  severely. 

When  the  firing  had  almost  ceased,  the  family  above  no- 
ticed concluded  it  would  be  much  safer  for  the  Rebel  who 
had  taken  shelter  with  them  to  try  to  make  his  escape ;  for 
the  probability  was,  that  if  he  should  be  found  in  the  house, 
at  such  a  time,  he  would  not  only  suffer  himself,  but  be  the 
occasion  of  the  family  suffering  also.  He  made  his  escape 
accordingly,  and  was  saved. 

Not  many  minutes  after,  a  number  of  soldiers  came  to  the 
door,  knocked  furiously  at  it,  and  demanded  entrance  imme- 
diately, insisting  that  the  family  should  all  come  forward  and 
show  themselves,  in  order  that  it  might  be  known  whether 
there  were  any  strangers  in  the  house.  The  door  was 
opened  accordingly,  and  they  were  immediately  surrounded 


79 

by  a  great  number  of  soldiers.  Their  appearance  was  very 
frightful;  they  were  just  come  from  the  heat  of  the  battle; 
their  faces  besmeared  with  gunpowder,  and  the  expression 
of  their  countenances  corresponding  with  the  work  of  death 
in  which  their  hands  had  just  been~  engaged.  One  of  them 
said  he  wanted  to  see  if  he  appeared  "  Devil-enough  like :"  he 
looked  at  his  face  in  the  glass,  and  observed  —  "he  thought 
he  did  appear  quite  enough  so."  They  inquired  if  all  the 
individuals  of  the  family  were  present,  and  if  any  strangers 
were  in  the  house.  Some  of  them  were  going  up  stairs  to 
search  ;  but  an  officer,  who  lived  near,  told  them,  they  should 
not  make  any  search :  "  that  the  Quakers  were  people  that 
would  not  tell  a  lie  —  that  their  words  might  be  taken  —  and, 
therefore,  if  any  strangers  were  in  the  house,  that  they  would 
not  be  denied."  Indeed,  their  manner  was  so  kind  and  civil 
as  to  excite  the  astonishment  of  the  family  ;  especially  as 
many  others  had  experienced  very  different  treatment. 

They  now  brought  into  the  house  a  poor  wounded  soldier, 
and  gave  him  into  the  care  of  the  family.  Part  of  his  bowels 
had  forced  their  way  out  through  a  wound  made  by  a  musket 
ball.  Every  possible  attention  was  paid  to  him,  and  he  was 
very  thankful  for  it,  but  died  the  next  morning,  after  suffering 
great  pain. 

The  town  presented  an  awful  appearance  after  the  battle ; 
the  bodies  of  men  and  horses  were  lying  in  the  blood-stained 
streets  ;  and  the  people  were  to  be  seen  here  and  there  sa- 
luting their  neighbors  —  like  those  who  survived  a  pestilence 
or  an  earthquake  —  as  if  they  were  glad  to  see  each  other 
alive,  after  the  recent  calamity. 

The  same  night,  nearly  a  troop  of  soldiers  came  to  the  door 
to  let  the  family  know  "they  need  not  be  at  all  alarmed  ;  for 
that  they  should  be  protected  —  that  the  soldiers  would  be 
riding  through  the  streets  all  night,  and  would  take  care  they 
should  not  be  molested." 

After  this,  the  inhabitants  were  kept  in  a  state  of  constant 
alarm  for  many  days,  not  knowing  when  another  attack  might 
be  made  upon  the  town ;  fresh  orders  were  repeatedly  given 
to  close  up  their  doors  and  windows,  and  to  prepare  for  another 
engagement.  In  the  mean  while,  the  army  were  racking 
many  houses,  and  taking  away  the  property.  They  carried 
off  the  shop-goods  of  a  Friend  living  in  a  suspected  quarter 
of  the  town,  but  did  not  hurt  any  of  his  family.  The  young 
man,  who,  with  his  sisters,  was  so  critically  circumstanced, 
as  is  above  related,  interceded  for  his  friend  with  the  com- 
manding .officer  ;  but  the  latter  would  not  prevent  the  soldiers 


73 

from  plundering,  saying,  "He  is  a  Quaker,  and  will  not  fight; 
therefore  the  men  must  be  allowed  to  take  his  goods," 

A  brother  of  the  same  Friend  living  in  a  part  of  the  town 
which  was  not  considered  so  rebellious,  received  no  harm, 
and  suffered  no  loss  of  property. 

Owing  to  the  bad  character  which  that  part  of  the  town 
where  the  young  man  and  his  sisters  lived  had  obtained,  or- 
ders were  issued  that  it  should  be  burned.  Some  of  the 
houses  had  already  been  destroyed  on  the  morning  of  the 
battle ;  but  it  was  now  a  fearful  thing  to  have  the  houses  of 
a  whole  street  condemned  to  pillage  and  the  flames,  as  many 
innocent  persons  would  undoubtedly  suffer,  and  numbers 
would  be  left  without  a  place  of  shelter.  For,  in  this  calam- 
itous period,  the  poor  destitute  wanderer,  whether  innocent  or 
guilty,  who  was  deprived  of  a  home,  either  by  accident  or 
design,  was  always  an  object  of  suspicion,  and,  if  not  in  mili- 
tary attire,  was  liable  to  be  shot. 

The  commanding  officer  was  riding  up  the  street  to  give 
the  orders  ;  and  one  of  the  young  women  of  the  family 
thought  she  would  venture  through  the  crowd  and  speak  to 
him  ;  some  of  the  town's  people  had  indeed  kindly  urged  her 
to  make  the  application.  She  walked  up  to  him  accordingly, 
and  with  great  simplicity  asked  him  "  if  their  house  was  to 
be  burned  :  "  he  replied, "  I  have  received  very  bad  treatment 
from  the  inhabitants  of  this  quarter  of  the  town  ;  but  you  shall 
not  be  disturbed.  I  will  make  them  rack  the  houses  about 
your  house,  and  save  yours."  After  this,  without  their  knowl- 
edge, a  yeoman  was  sent  to  stand  at  their  door,  while  the 
destruction  was  going  forward  near  them. 

Notwithstanding  the  officer's  commands,  the  army  seemed 
disposed,  many  times  afterwards,  to  plunder  their  house  ;  but 
the  neighbors  always  interfered,  saying,  "  they  were  inoffen- 
sive people,  not  connected  with  any  party,  and  that  their  father 
was  in  America." 

On  one  occasion,  the  soldiers  came  for  the  express  purpose 
of  racking  the  house,  and  had  their  weapons  ready  to  break 
the  windows.  But  the  neighbors,  some  of  whom  were  yeo- 
men, stepped  forward  in  their  behalf,  so  that  not  even  a  shil- 
ling's worth  was  taken  from  them,  nor  did  any  of  the  family 
receive  the  slightest  personal  injury. 

The  following  remarkable  circumstance  deserves  to  be 
recorded  in  relation  to  this  family.  It  is  given  upon  unques- 
tionable authority :  — 

At  the  time  their  father,  then  in  a  weak  state  of  health, 
wa«  preparing  to  leave  Ireland,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  a 


74 

religious  visit  to  America,  a  minister  of  the  Society  expressed 
himself  in  prayer,  at  a  Quarterly  Meeting,  to  this  effect:  he 
said,  "  he  was  led  to  appear  in  supplication  on  behalf  of  a 
dear  brother  who  was  going  to  a  distant  country,  he  might 
say,  as  with  his  life  in  his  hands  ;  that  the  Lord,  he  trusted, 
would  be  with  him,  and  would  lay  out  his  work  day  after  day ; 
that  he  would  be  enabled  to  perform  acceptably  what  was 
designed  for  him  to  do,  and  would  return  to  his  family  and 
friends,  with  the  reward  of  peace  in  his  own  bosom;  experi- 
encing Him  who  was  his  morning  light  to  be  his  evening 
song.  But  that  in  his  absence  the  sword  would  be  near  his 
house,  and  the  dead  bodies  would  be  lying  in  the  streets ; 
and,  at  the  time,  neither  hurt  nor  harm  would  befall  his 
family  ;  for  the  Lord  would  encamp  about  them,  and  pre- 
serve them,  as  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  from  the  rage  and 
fury  of  the  enemy."  —  These  things  were  literally  accom- 
plished. 


In  connection  with  the  battle  of  Antrim,  it  is  peculiarly 
gratifying  to  be  enabled  to  communicate  a  few  particulars 
relating  to  what  occurred  at  the  Moravian  settlement  near 
it.  The  incident  proves  that  the  same  principles  of  conduct 
will  lead  to  the  same  practical  effects,  whether  maintained 
by  one  society  of  Christians  or  by  another ;  and  the  author 
is  indebted  for  it  to  an  intelligent  female,  who  resided  for 
some  time  at  Gracehill,  amongst  the  Moravians  themselves. 

"  You  request  me  to  inform  you  of  what  I  know  respecting 
the  Moravians,  and  their  great  objection  to  war,  or  any  party 
work  whatever.  This  I  can  clearly  do  from  a  long  residence 
among  them,  during  which  time  I  never  knew  one  of  the 
members  of  their  Society  summoned  to  sessions  or  any  other 
court  of  law  ;  which,  from  their  being  so  numerous,  is  rather 
a  wonderful  thing  in  unfortunate  Ireland.  Their  aim  and 
wish  is  to  live  peaceably  and  industriously  under  the  existing 
government,  not  meddling  with  politics  or  affairs  of  state  ; 
they  having  a  much  higher  object  in  view  —  the  training  of 
souls  for  the  inheritance  of  glory. 

"  You  may  remember  an  anecdote  I  used  to  tell  you  of 
good  old  Mr.  Fredlezius  (the  minister)  during  the  Rebellion 
of  1798,  and  a  few  days  before  the  battle  of  Antrim  ;  when  a 
party  of  ragged  United  Irishmen  came  to  Gracehill,  and  told 
him,  that  unless  the  brethren  joined  them,  they  would  burn 
the  settlement  and  murder  the  whole  community,  and  said, 
that  in  a  few  weeks,  all  Ireland  would  be  theirs,  as  the  French 


75 

had  landed  to  restore  them  to  their  rights,  and  that  unless 
they  became  of  their  party  and  took  up  arms,  they  would  not 
allow  them  an  inch  of  ground  in  the  island.  But  poor  dear 
old  Fredlezius,  who  had  not  time  to  half  dress  himself,  came 
out  among  them  in  his  red  night-cap  ;  and  trusting  that  God 
would  soon  deliver  them  out  of  the  hands  of  such  a  mob, 
coolly  said,  "  Well,  well,  my  friends,  be  peaceable,  and  when 
you  be  de  cock  we  be  de  chickens ;  come  into  the  inn  and  refresh 
yourselves."  And,  indeed,  they  did  so,  drinking  all  they 
could.  They  then  went  to  the  shop,  carried  off  all  the  green 
stuff  and  ribands  they  could  get,  and  said  they  would  come 
again  soon  for  the  final  answer  as  to  what  party  they  would 
join  ;  and,  if  not  theirs,  they  would  reduce  the  place  to  ashes, 
and  murder  the  whole  set.  They  did  assuredly  come,  not 
many  days  after ;  they  arrived  in  multitudes,  and  drew  up  in 
front  of  the  sisters'  house,  while  the  poor  sisters  had  all  as- 
sembled in  their  prayer-hall  to  implore  God  to  protect  them ; 
and  momentarily  expecting  those  ruffians  to  break  in  on  them. 
At  this  conjuncture  some  dragoons  galloped  past  with  ac- 
counts to  Ballymena,  that  the  rebels  were  beaten  at  Antrim, 
and  would  soon  be  annihilated.  This  so  terrified  the  ragged 
rabble  that  they  took  flight  in  all  directions,  leaving  the  good 
Moravians  to  bless  and  magnify  that  God  who  had  so  provi- 
dentially preserved  them." 

[The  Rev.  C.  Ignatius  La  Trobe,  Secretary  of  the  Moravian 
Missions,  having  been  applied  to  on  behalf  of  the  Peace  Society, 
for  such  further  information  respecting  the  preservation  of  the 
Moravian  settlements  from  military  outrage  with  which  he 
might  be  acquainted,  has  obligingly  made  the  following  commu- 
nication :  — ] 

19,  Bartletfs  Buildings,  April  8,  1828. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — You  have  desired  me  to  add  some  particulars 
to  the  account  given  at  p.  137*  of  your  little  work,  by  an  "  intel- 
ligent female,"  who  had  resided  some  time  among  the  Moravians 
at  Gracehill  (their  settlement  in  the  north  of  Ireland),  respecting 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  preserved  from  harm  in  the  Re- 
bellion of  1798.  Your  correspondent  justly  describes  them  as 
giving  the  glory  of  their  deliverance  to  the  mercy  and  power  of 
God  alone  ;  and  their  and  our  hearts  are  filled  with  gratitude 
whenever  we  call  to  mind  the  many  proofs  of  His  goodness,  ex- 
perienced during  that  dreadful  period. 

"  I  would  the  more  willingly  comply  with  your  request,  were 
I  able  to  refer  to  the  Journals  and  Reports  then  sent  to  all  our 

*  Of  the  second  edition  of  this  work. 


76 

Congregations  in  manuscript,  but  never  printed.  They  are,  how- 
ever, not  now  within  my  reach.  You  will,  therefore,  kindly  ac- 
cept of  the  imperfect  accounts  my  memory  may  enable  me  to 
Furnish 

"  The  jury  in  Carrickfergus,  having  been  required  by  the  Gov- 
•m  nent  to  give  their  opinion  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  inhabit* 

its   of  that   region,  had  stated,  that  the  Moravian   Brethren  at 

neehill  might  be  considered  as  truly  loyal  subjects;  which 
\v-is  indeed  the  case,  as  they  wished  in  this,  as  in  all  things,  con- 
scientiously to  obey  the  injunctions  given  in  the  word  of  God. 

"This  declaration,  of  course,  gave  great  umbrage  to  many 
leaders  of  the  rebellion  ;  and  it  is  said,  that  the  destruction  of 
Gracehill  was  determined  upon  in  their  councils.  I  must  observe 
that  1  am  unable  to  quote  dates,  and  you  will  excuse  my  men- 
tioning events  as  they  occur  to  my  mind.  I  have  heard  that 
when  Mr.  Fredlezius.  the  warden,  who  was  a  man  of  a  remarka- 
bly calm  and  unoffending  character,  heard  of  the  approach  of  the 
first  party  of  rebels,  he  went  out  to  meet  them,  and  addressing 
their  captain,  a  man  of  ferocious  appearance,  said  — '  Do  you 
come  as  friends,  or  as  enemies?'  After  some  demur,  the  cap- 
tain answered  — 'As  friends,  to  be  sure  ;  what  would  you  have  us 
to  be  ^  '  Mr.  Fredlezius  then  held  out  his  hand,  which  the  captain 
took,  assuring  him  that  they  meant  to  do  no  mischief  if  they  were 
only  supplied  with  victuals^  arms,  arid  ammunition.  They  were 
told,  that  they  had  been  obliged  to  deliver  up  all  their  fire-arms 
and  gunpowder  by  the  king's  troops.  The  party  then  entered 
the  shop,  took  all  the  green  riband  they  could  find,  and,  being 
supplied  with  food  and  drink,  marched  off. 

•'  Another  party  of  several  hundreds,  worse  in  disposition  than 
the  former,  paid  them  a  second  visit,  as  described  by  your  cor- 
respondent ;  from  which  they  were  delivered,  as  related  by  her. 

"  The  destruction  of  Toome  Bridge,  over  the  river  Bann,  con- 
necting the  counties  Derry  and  Antrim,  by  the  rebels  themselves, 
prevented  hundreds  of  those  in  Derry  from  joining  their  comrades 
in  Antrim,  which  the  Brethren  in  Gracehill  considered  a  provi- 
dential circumstance.  As  success  declared  itself  in  favor  of 
either  party  alternately,  the  friends  of  both  were  at  a  loss  whither 
to  fly  for  safety.  To  the  surprise  of  the  Brethren,  Gracehill  be- 
came the  general  asylum.  The  leaders  of  both  parties  had 
charged  the  inhabitants  not  to  suffer  any  fugitives  to  enter  their 
dwellings.  When  they,  therefore,  arrived  with  their  goods,  on 
cars  or  in  wagons,  they  had  no  place  of  shelter,  but  either  in 
sheds,  or  under  cover  of  their  vehicles,  which  filled  the  square. 
Rebels  and  king's  men  lay  close  to  each  other  in  the  same  dis- 
tress, and  were^both  treated  with  humanity  by  the  inhabitants. 
It  happened  that  some,  flying  along  the  streets,  threw  their 
purses  and  money  into  the  houses,  and  made  sure  of  their  being 
restored  by  the  unknown  inmates.  Such  was  the  confidence  of 
all,  in  those  honest  Christian  people. 


77 

"  Respecting  our  settlements  on  the  Continent,  I  am  at  a  still 
greater  loss  as  to  dates ;  but  the  instances  of  God's  preservation 
of  our  defenceless  places  and  their  inhabitants  are  numerous. 
The  battle  of  Bautzen,  in  which  the  Russians  and  Prussians 
were  defeated  by  Bonaparte,  might  have  ended  in  the  destruction 
of  our  settlement  at  Kleinwelcke,  had  it  been  otherwise  decided. 
The  French  made  it  the  receptacle  of  the  sick  and  wounded. 
Their  subsequent  invasion  of  Silesia  brought  Gi»adenberg  into 
still  greater  danger.  It  was  twice  plundered  ;  and  on  a  repre- 
sentation being  made  to  Bonaparte,  he  is  said  to  have  declared, 
that  as  the  Moravian  Brethren  and  he  himself  had  one  cummon 
end  in  view,  —  the  establishment  of  general  peace  throughout  all 
the  world,  —  they  should  not  be  molested.  He  ordered  the  names 
of  the  four  Silesian  settlements  to  be  written  down,  and  promised 
them  safety.  Gnadenberg  was  at  that  time  exposed  to  great  dan- 
ger, from  balls  and  shells  flying  over,  and  entering  the  streets 
and  houses.  Herrnhut,  in  Upper  Lusatia,  was  spared,  being  the 
resort,  by  turns,  of  general  staffs  of  both  armies,  by  which,  how- 
ever, immense  expense  was  incurred.  I  will  only  relate  one  in- 
stance of  their  preservation  among  many:  —  A  party,  above  a 
thousand  strong,  of  Russians  or  Poles,  I  forget  which,  had  en- 
camped in  the  garden  and  premises  behind  the  house  of  the  Sin- 
gle Sisters.  They  were  excessively  wild,  and  no  kind  treatment 
seemed  to  make  much  impression  upon  them.  Having  threat- 
ened, as  soon  as  it  should  grow  dark,  to  seize  upon  the  house, 
and  their  officers  declaring  that  they  could  not  restrain  their  men, 
the  inhabitants  were  in  the  utmost  state  of  consternation.  Their 
only  hope  was  in  God,  to  whom  they  had  recourse  in  fervent 
prayer,  trusting  to  His  mercy.  About  sunset,  an  order  arrived 
from  the  general,  commanding  the  whole  party  to  join  the  main 
army  near  Zittau  without  a  moment's  delay.  Thus  speedy  deliv- 
erance was  wrought,  and  surely  none  could  deny  that  the  Lord 
had  heard  the  prayers  of  his  children  offered  up  in  their  deep 
distress. 

"  1  have  thus  endeavored,   in   some  degree,   to  satisfy  your 
wishes,  and  trust  that  I  have  not  made  any  misstatements. 
"  I  am,  dear  Sir, 

"  Your  affectionate  friend, 

"  C.  IG.  LA    TROBE. 

"  To  Mr.  John  Be-cans* 


I  shall  conclude  this  chapter  with  an  anecdote  communica- 
ted to  me  by  a  valuable  Friend,  who  felt  himself  placet!  in  a 
situation,  which  exposed  him  to  a  kind  of  trial,  different,  in 
many  respects,  from  what  others  had  to  experience,  in  support 
of  the  testimony  against  War.  It  not  only  shows  the  delicacy 
of  those  religious  feelings  which  may  arise  in  truly  devoted 
7* 


78 

minds,  and  the  benefit  of  yielding  them  faithful  obedience, 
but  may  afford  a  useful  lesson  to  others  to  attend  to  the 
pointings  of  duty  in  themselves,  even  when  their  nearest 
friends  may  not  see  things  exactly  in  the  same  light  We 
cannot  doubt  that  this  conscientious  individual  was  far  from 
indulging  a  disposition  to  condemn  any  of  his  brethren,  who 
might  not  have  taken  a  similar  view  of  the  caso.  Yet  a  little 
reflection,  it  is  presumed,  must  point  out  to  every  one  the 
reasonableness  of  his  religious  scruples  on  the  subject:  — 

"  At  the  time   when  we  were  under  the  power  of  the 
military,  and  the  civil  authorities  suspended,  the  town  of 

C was  threatened,  or  in  expectation  of  being  attacked. 

On  walking  out  one  day,  I  observed,  posted  up  in  various 
places,  a  printed  order  from  the  General,  in  the  following 
terms :  — '  In  case  of  alarm  in  the  nigJit,  the  inhabitants  are 
required  to  place  lights  in  the  middle  stories  of  their  houses. 
The  most  severe  and  instantaneous  punishment  unit  be  inflicted 
on  such  as  neglect  to  comply  with  this  order.'  A  cloud  of 
distress  came  over  my  mind  on  reading  this  notice.  1  knew 
that  the  '  light  in  the  windows1  was,  that  the  soldiers  might 
discern  the  enemy,  and  be  able  to  fight ;  and  '  tfie  most  severe 
and  instantaneous  punishment'  was  a  license  to  the  soldiers  to 
put  all  instantly  to  death,  where  this  order  was  not  complied 
with.  As  I  could  not  fight  myself,  I  found  I  dare  not  hold  a 
light  for  another  to  fight  for  me.  This  would  be  taking  a 
more  active  part  in  a  contest  than  I  was  easy  to  do ;  and  how 
to  act  was  a  nice  and  difficult  point  I  informed  Friends  how 
I  felt ;  but  I  found  they  did  not  all  see  alike,  and  few  thought 
themselves  so  restricted  as  1  did.  At  length,  after  some 
days,  I  felt  inclined  to  go  to  the  General  myself;  so,  asking 
a  Friend  to  accompany  me,  I  went  to  him.  He  received  us 
in  a  civil  manner,  and  patiently  heard  me  whilst  I  told  him, 
that,  as  I  could  not  fight  myself,  I  was  not  easy  to  hold  a 
candle  for  another  to  do  it  for  me.  I  believe  he  perceived 
the  distress  of  my  mind,  and  the  first  thing  he  said  was,  'I 
think  it  is  a  pity  you  did 'not  let  me  know  your  uneasiness 
sooner.'  He  asked  me  if  I  came  on  behalf  of  the  Society  of 
Quakers  in  the  town,  or  was  it  only  the  uneasiness  of  a  few. 
I  told  him  I  did  not  come  on  behalf  of  the  bony  at  large. 
He  said  that  he  had  issued  the  order  as  consistent  with  his 
duty  as  commanding  officer,  and,  having  issued  it,  he  could 
not  well  rescind  it  now ;  but  said,  if  I  would  furnish  him 
with  the  names  of  such  Friends  as  were  uneasy  to  comply 
with  the  order,  and  where  they  lived,  he  would  endeavor  to 
havo  them  protected  in  case  of  alarm.  I  told  him  that 


79 

perhaps  there  were  some,  who  could  not  say,  till  the  time  of 
trial  came,  how  far  they  might  be  easy  to  comply  or  not,  and 
then  it  would  be  too  late.  Then,  with  much  condescension 
and  kindness,  he  desired  me  to  furnish  him  with  the  names 
of  all  the  members  of  the  Society  in  the  town;  he  would 
endeavor  that  they  should  not  suffer  for  non-compliance  with 
his  order.  This  1  complied  with;  but,  the  town  not  being 
attacked,  the  General's  kind  intentions  were  not  called  forth. 
It  was,  however,  I  thought,  a  memorable  circumstance,  that  a 
General,  in  the  midst  of  commotion,  should  so  patiently  listen 
to  my  reasons  for  not  complying  with  his  order,  and  promise, 
as  far  as  he  could,  to  protect  us.  As  well  as  I  can  now 
remember,  he  went  so  far  as  to  say,  he  did  not  think  he 
should  have  issued  the  order  just  as  he  did,  if  he  knew  it 
would  have  given  Friends  so  much  uneasiness." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Of  the  General  Preservation  of  the  Society  during  the  Rebellion. 

THE  Society  of  Friends  is  scattered  over  three  Provinces 
in  Ireland,  in  these,  viz.  Ulster,  Leinster,  and  Munster, 
many  of  its  members  were  brought  into  immediate  contact 
with  one  or  both  of  the  hostile  parties,  in  towns,  villages,  and 
retired  country  places.  Some,  it  must  also  be  acknowledged, 
were  living  with  little  more  than  an  outward  or  formal 
profession  of  the  principle  against  War,  held  as  one  of  its 
Christian  tenets  by  the  Society ;  in  fact,  they  submitted  to 
the  opinion  of  their  friends,  and  followed  traditionally  the 
maxims  of  their  education,  without  feeling  such  strong 
conviction  of  the  indispensable  duty  which  this  principle 
enjoined,  as  would  have  made  them  willing  to  part  with  their 
liberty  or  property,  much  less  with  their  lives,  rather  than  to 
violate  such  an  important  testimony. 

In  this  great  variety  of  circumstances  and  of  perils  to 
which  they  were  exposed,  it  is  natural  enough  to  inquire 
whether  the  Society  lost  any  of  its  members.  We  are 
enabled  to  answer  this  question  by  an  authentic  document, 
issued  by  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Dublin,  which  contains  the 
following  passage:  "It  is  worthy  of  commemoration,  and 


80 

cause  of  humble  thankfulness  to  the  Preserver  of  men,  that, 
amidst  the  carnage  and  destruction  which  frequently  prevailed 
in  some  parts,  and  notwithstanding  the  jeopardy  in  which 
some  Friends  stood  every  hour,  and  that  they  had  frequently 
to  pass  through  violent  and  enraged  men,  in  going  to  and 
returning  from  our  religious  meetings,  (which,  with  very  few 
exceptions,  were  constantly  kept  up,)  that  the  lives  of  the 
members  of  our  Society  were  so  signally  preserved." 

And,  in  the  same  document,  an  extract  is  given  from  the 
Epistle  from  the  Yearly  Meeting  held  in  Dublin  in  J801, 
addressed  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Philadelphia,  which 
states,  that  "  it  was  cause  of  grateful  acknowledgment  to  the 
God  and  Father  of  all  our  mercies,  that,  in  retrospection  to 
that  gloomy  season,  when,  in  some  places,  Friends  did  not 
know  but  that  every  day  would  be  their  last,  seeing  and 
hearing  of  so  many  of  their  neighbors  being  put  to  death, 
that  no  member  of  our  Society  fell  a  sacrifice  in  that  way, 
but  one  young  maw." 

That  an  exception  should  thus  be  made  of  one  young  man, 
in  the  accidents  or  allotments  of  a  Society  composed  of  some 
thousands,  is  in  itself  a  remarkable  occurrence ;  and  every 
one  must  be  curious  to  know  under  what  circumstances  the 
death  of  this  individual  took  place. 

There  are  some  cases,  in  which  an  apparent  exception 
confirms  the  law ;  and  we  are  much  mistaken,  if,  in  this 
particular  instance,  the  very  exception  will  not  be  found  to 
establish  the  principle,  so  far  from  weakening  its  practical 
force. 

His  name,  as  well  as  the  place  where  this  individual 
suffered,  are  well  known ;  but  it  would  not  be  consistent  with 
the  object  of  this  narrative  to  publish  them  to  the  world.  As 
the  names  of  those  who  might  be  entitled  to  a  little  com- 
mendation, in  so  far  as  they  acted  in  obedience  to  their 
principles,  are  generally  concealed,  it  is  the  more  necessary 
to  shield  from  public  notice  the  memory  of  one,  whose 
untimely  death,  following,  as  it  did,  his  deviation  from  these 
principles,  formed  so  notable  an  exception. 

This  young  man,  apprehending  that  his  life  was  in  danger, 
and  that  he  could  find  no  protection  but  by  outward  means  of 
defence,  took  up  the  resolution  accordingly  to  put  on  a 
military  uniform,  and  to  associate  with  armed  men.  He  told 
his  connections,  that  they  would  all  be  murdered,  if  they 
remained  in  such  a  defenceless  state  in  the  country;  and, 
taking  with  him  some  papers  of  consequence,  he  fled  to  a 


81 

neighboring  garrison-town.  But  it  so  happened,  that  the 
very  town  *  he  chose  as  a  place  of  refuge,  was  attacked  and 
taken  by  the  Insurgents;  and,  from  the  most  credible 
information  that  can  be  collected,  it  appears  that,  when  the 
contest  was  over,  and  he  was  wantonly  firing  out  of  a 
window  upon  them,  the  door  of  the  house  was  forced  open  by 
the  enraged  enemy,  and,  in  terror  of  his  life,  he  sought  to 
conceal  himself  in  an  upper  chamber,  where  he  was  soon 
discovered,  and  put  to  death.  It  has  been  stated,  I  know  not 
whether  on  sufficient  authority,  that  he  was  marked,  some 
time  before,  for  his  inconsistency  and  party-spirit,  by  those 
whom,  in  consequence  of  his  decided  opposition,  he  had  thus 
made  his  enemies ;  and  that  he  was  formally  threatened,  if  he 
persisted  in  such  rash  conduct,  that  he  should  lose  his  life. 

Pitiable  young  man!  How  little  did  he  know  what  was 
for  his  real  good !  He  left  his  home  and  the  wise  instructions 
of  his  parents,  thinking  they  would  aftbrd  no  protection  in 
this  time  of  peril.  He  calculated  upon  a  short-sighted 
policy,  as  it  proved,  though  he  followed  the  usual  maxims 
of  the  world ;  and  what  was  the  result  ?  The  means  he  took 
for  his  preservation  proved  his  ruin.  The  dress  and  arms,  in 
which  he  was  accoutred,  were  his  greatest  enemies ;  they 
spoke  the  language  of  hostility,  and  invited  it.  The  power 
in  which  he  trusted  failed  him  as  in  a  moment.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  relations  he  abandoned  were  saved ;  their  peaceful 
principles  were  to  them  as  a  tower  and  shield;  and  their 
solitary  home,  though  unfurnished  with  outward  defences, 
proved  in  the  end  a  place  of  safety. 

It  scarcely  perhaps  deserves  to  be  mentioned, —  but  the  fact 
appears  to  have  a  remote  affinity  to  the  immediate  subject, 
and  may  afford  some  instruction,  —  that  a  member  of  the 
Society,  who,  under  the  influence  of  an  improper  curiosity, 
looked  out  of  a  window,  during,  or  just  after,  an  engagement, 
was  shot  at  and  wounded  in  the  chest,  but  that  he  recovered. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  preservation  of  some,  who  seemed 
to  be  in  more  immediate  danger,  was  remarkable :  Two 
Friends,  who  had  been  travelling,  and  were  entering  the 
town  of  Kilcullen,  just  as  a  battle  was  commencing,  stood  in 
the  open  street  during  the  engagement ;  and,  though  they  ran 
a  risk  of  being  shot  by  the  sentinel,  on  entering  the  town, 
as  well  as  by  the  contending  parties,  in  the  heat  of  action, 
were  happily  preserved. 

*  Situated  in  the  county  of  Kildare. 


82 

At  Baltiboys,  in  the  county  of  Wicklow,  an  elderly  person 
was  killed,  during  the  Rebellion,  who  had  been,  a  short  time 
before,  disunited  for  inconsistency  in  his  conduct,  and  had 
meddled  imprudently  in  political  matters. 

The  following  affecting  narrative  contains  a  few  particulars 
relative  to  two  brothers,  named  John  and  Samuel  Jones,  who 
were  put  to  death  by  the  Insurgents,  on  the  day  of  the 
burning  of  Scullabogue-barn,  in  the  lawn  near  it. 

Although  the  event  it  records  may  not,  at  first  sight, 
appear  to  have  any  proper  connection  with  the  subject  of 
this  publication,  and  even,  to  some,  to  militate  against  the 
principles  advocated  in  it,  yet  it  is  considered  that  a  closer 
view  will  point  out  the  application ;  and,  as  truth  is  sacred, 
and  ought  not  to  be  disguised,  the  insertion  of  the  fact  may 
serve,  at  least,  to  take  away  presumption  from  those  who 
might  be  induced  to  look  for  preservation  as  the  necessary 
effect  of  peaceable  conduct.  No  such  impression  as  the  last 
is  meant  to  be  conveyed. 

Samuel  Jones,  the  younger  of  the  two,  had  attended  the 
meetings  of  Friends,  and  was  considered  to  make  no  other 
profession  of  religion.  Their  father,  having  married  out 
of  the  Society,  lost  his  membership  in  consequence;  and 
Samuel,  though  feeling  an  attachment  to  it,  had  never 
applied  for  admission.  But,  if  unconquerable  faith  and 
fortitude  in  the  hour  of  extremity,  could  entitle  any  one  to 
the  name  of  martyr,  his  name  and  the  circumstances  of  his 
death  deserve  to  be  recorded,  as  affording  an  instructive 
example  of  Christian  heroism ;  and  he  might  have  been 
justly  regarded  as  a  worthy  associate  of  any  Christian 
community.  They  lived  at  Kilbraney,  near  Old  Ross,  in  the 
county  of  Wexford. 

Samuel  was  of  a  meek  and  tender  spirit,  and  remarked  for 
the  benevolence  of  his  disposition.  At  one  period,  he  had 
applied  himself  closely  to  the  perusal  of  Fox's  Martyrology, 
and  other  religious  books  ;  thus  fortifying  his  mind,  as  it 
were,  against  the  day  of  trial.  As  the  preparations  for  the 
impending  conflict  were  going  forward,  he  became  very 
thoughtful,  apprehending  that  some  serious  calamity  would 
befall  him  from  the  Insurgents.  About  a  month  before  the 
lamentable  event  took  place,  he  told  his  wife  that  he  did  not 
expect  to  die  upon  his  bed ;  and,  on  one  occasion,  having, 
with  her,  accompanied  some  young  women  to  their  place 
of  abode,  who  were  gay  and  lively,  he  remarked,  with  much 
seriousness,  "How  little  do  these  poor  creatures  know  what 


83 

;s  before  them !"  The  last  time  he  attended  the  Meeting-  at 
Forrest,  it  appeared  as  if  he  considered  it  to  be  a  final 
parting  with  his  friends. 

Shortly  after  this,  as  the  troubles  increased,  and  danger 
became  more  imminent,  he  was  urged  by  his  Protestant 
neighbors  to  fly  for  refuge  to  the  adjacent  garrison-town  of 
New  Ross ;  but  he  and  his  wife  thought  it  right  to  remain  at 
their  own  residence. 

He  was  taken  prisoner  soon  after,  with  his  elder  brother 
John,  and  conveyed  to  the  mansion  of  F.  King,  of  Sculla- 
bogue,  his  wife  accompanying  them.  John  lamented  his 
situation  and  former  manner  of  life,  signifying  that  he  was 
ill  prepared  to  die  ;  but  Samuel  encouraged  him  by  repeating 
the  declaration  of  our  Savior,  "  He  that  findeth  his  life  shall 
lose  it,  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it." 

The  house  where  they  were  imprisoned  was  close  to  the 
noted  barn,  in  which,  within  a  few  days  after  they  were 
taken,  a  number  of  their  fellow-creatures  were  horribly 
burnt  to  death.*  Like  many  others  confined  there,  they  had 
little  to  eat;  and  his  wife,  having  procured  a  loaf  of  bread, 
brought  it  to  him ;  but,  being  more  inclined  to  sleep  than  to 
eat,  he  placed  it  under  his  head,  intending  to  reserve  it  till 
he  awoke,  and,  whilst  he  slept,  it  was  conveyed  away. 
When  he  awoke,  and  his  wife  was  lamenting  the  loss  of  it 
at  such  a  time  of  need,  he  patiently  answered  her,  "God, 
who  has  permitted  the  food  to  be  taken  away,  can  likewise 

*  The  following  fact  is  supposed  to  indicate  that  the  massacre 
of  the  Protestants  at  Scullabogue,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred 
and  upwards,  by  burning  some  in  the  barn,  and  shooting  others 
in  the  lawn,  was  not  the  effect  of  a  sudden  impulse,  but  of  a 
preconcerted  plan,  to  which  even  some  of  the  Protestant  generals 
of  the  rebels  were  not  privy :  Two  days  before  the  massacre,  a 
member  of  the  Society,  of  Scar,  whose  son  was  either  taken,  or 
went  with  the  United  Irishmen,  to  their  camp,  apprehending 
that  he  had  influence  with  one  of  their  generals,  B.  B.  Harvey, 
(himself  a  Protestant,)  to  get  off  his  son,  repaired  to  Sculla- 
bogue, and  spoke  to  the  General.  But  the  power  of  the  latter 
being  in  some  things  merely  nominal,  he  directed  him  to  go  to 
the  priest,  whose  name  was  Roche,  saying,  "  he  could  do  nothing 
for  him."  Not  being  satisfied  to  do  so,  the  Friend  returned 
home.  But  whilst  he  was  waiting  for  the  General,  he  saw  tne 
two  brothers  Jones  in  the  house  ;  and,  as  he  was  attempting  to 
go  into  the  room  where  they  were  confined,  he  was  pulled 
suddenly  back  by  a  man  named  Fitzhenry,  who  told  him,  that 
"  if  he  went  into  that  room,  he  would  never  come  out  alive;" 


84 

take  away  hunger."  But  afterwards,  as  he  was  walking 
about  the  room,  his  foot  struck  against  a  plate  of  potatoes, 
which  lay  concealed  under  some  clothes,  and,  though  cold, 
to  them  they  were  delicious.  A  New  Testament,  which  they 
had  with  them,  afforded  them  much  comfort  On  the 
morning  of  the  day  when  the  barn  was  set  on  fire,  —  which 
was  also  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Ross,  —  as  they  were 
reading  in  the  New  Testament,  Samuel's  wife  inquired  of 
one  of  the  guards  the  cause  of  the  peculiar  smell,  like 
burning  animal  matter,  which  she  perceived.  He  told  her  it 
proceeded  from  some  beef  steaks  they  were  preparing  for 
breakfast!  To  a  further  inquiry  she  made,  "what  was 
meant  by  the  firing  of  guns,"  he  replied,  "  'Tis  some 
criminals  we  are  shooting."  "  And  will  they  shoot  us  ? " 
said  the  poor  woman.  "  Oh !  may  be  they  will  spare  you  till 
the  last,"  was  his  answer. 

In  about  five  minutes  after  this,  the  three  were  taken  out. 

The  Rebel  officer  who  commanded  there,  had  been 
reminded  by  Samuel  of  their  having  been  school-fellows  ; 
and  the  latter  had  given  him  his  watch  and  money  to  keep 
for  him.  It  is  even  stated  that  the  officer  slept  in  the  same 
bed  with  him  part  of  the  previous  night.  Having  proposed 
to  Samuel  that  he  should  conform  and  turn  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  profession,  he  replied,  "Where  shall  I  turn,  but 
where  rny  God  is?"  And,  when  he  was  urged  to  have  his 
children  sprinkled,  he  said,  "  My  children  are  innocent,  and  I 
will  leave  them  so." 

When  the  two  brothers,  with  Samuel's  wife,  were  brought 
out  to  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  dwelling-house  where  they 
were  imprisoned,  to  be  put  to  death,  some  person  said,  "they 
were  Quakers."  It  was  replied,  that,  "  if  they  could  make 
it  appear  they  were  Quakers,  they  should  not  be  killed." 
As  they  were  not,  in  reality,  members  of  the  Society,  this 
was  not  attempted  to  be  done.  Those  who  had  them  in 
custody  then  took  Samuel  aside,  and,  on  certain  conditions, 
offered  him  his  life ;  but,  whatever  was  the  nature  of  these 
conditions,  he  firmly  rejected  them ;  and,  when  the  holy  water, 
as  they  termed  it,  was  brought  to  them,  he  turned  his  back 
upon  it. 

The  Insurgents  then  shot  his  elder  brother,  whom  he  very 
much  encouraged,  fearing  his  steadfastness  might  give  way 
—  for  John  had  shown  a  disposition  to  turn  Roman  Catholic, 
if  it  might  be  the  means  of  saving  Samuel's  life:  —  but  the 
latter  encouraged  his  brother  to  faithfulness,  expressing  the 
words  of  our  blessed  Savior,  "They  that  deny  me  before 


85 

men,  them  will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father  who  is  in 
heaven;"  and  he  again  revived  the  39th  verse  of  the  same 
chapter  in  his  remembrance.  (See  Matthew,  chap,  x.) 

Samuel  then  desired  his  love  to  be  given  to  different 
Friends,  whom  he  named,  —  some  of  the  Rebels,  at  the 
same  time,  with  a  view  to  depress  his  spirits,  telling  him, 
that  these  Friends  had  been  made  prisoners  before  he  was, 
and  shot  at  the  camp  at  the  Three  Rocks.  This  communi- 
cation had  partially  the  effect  they  intended :  he  meekly 
replied,  "They  died  innocent."  He  then  took  an  affectionate 
farewell  of  his  wife,  who,  with  admirable  fortitude,  stood 
between  the  two  brothers,  holding  a  hand  of  each,  when 
they  were  shot ;  and  his  last  words  were  reported  to  be 
those  expressions  of  our  Lord  and  Savior,  which  he  repeated 
for  the  third  time  in  the  hearing  of  his  murderers,  "  He  that 
findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my 
sake  shall  find  it."  It  was  cause  of  mournful  reflection  to 
his  friends,  that  he  was  fired  at  three  times  before  his  death 
took  place.  He  was  an  innocent  young  man,  much  beloved 
by  his  neighbors. 

It  seemed  as  if  his  wife  would  have  shared  the  same  fate, 
had  not  the  officer  who  commanded  interposed  in  her  favor. 
She  was  permitted  to  convey  their  bodies  to  their  former 
dwelling  on  a  car;  but,  not  being  able,  at  that  time,  to 
procure  coffins  for  them,  she  buried  them  in  the  garden.  On 
the  death  of  their  aged  father,  which  took  place  in  the 
following  month,  and  was  probably  hastened  by  the  untimely 
death  of  his  two  only  sons,  the  bodies  of  the  three  were 
taken  to  the  burying-ground  of  the  Friends  at  Forrest,  and 
there  interred,  about  seven  weeks  after. 


When  similar  events  occur  under  nearly  similar  circum- 
stances, in  different  ages,  and  in  different  countries,  we  are 
in  the  habit  of  referring  them,  and  mostly  with  good  reason, 
to  the  influence  and  operation  of  some  common  principles. 
We  judge  that,  whatever  difference  may  exist  between  the 
customs  and  prejudices  of  one  age  and  country  and  those 
of  another,  these  customs  and  prejudices  have  not  the  power 
to  counterbalance  the  practical  weight  and  authority  of  the 
principles  in  question.  But,  if  we  find  that  these  principles 
influence  the  conduct  of  our  fellow-creatures,  even  when 
they  are  living  in  a  state  of  uncultivated  nature,  we  must  be 
persuaded,  that  whatever  motives  operate  so  powerfully,  in 
rude  and  civilized  society,  must  be  built  upon  some  enduring 
8 


86 

foundation,  which  times  and  seasons  cannot  alter.  If,  besides 
this,  we  discover  that,  in  their  direct  effect,  these  principles 
lead  to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  man,  the  conclusion  is 
irresistible,  that  they  are  not  of  mere  temporary  use,  but 
of  universal  obligation;  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
individual,  as  well  as  of  political  bodies,  to  conform  to  them, 
and  thus  to  make  them  the  rule  of  public  and  private 
conduct.  Now,  such,  it  may  be  safely  alleged,  are  the 
blessed  effects  of  the  principles  of  Peace,  Avhen,  in  a  right 
spirit,  they  are  acted  upon  and  obeyed,  —  and  such  their 
influence  upon  mankind,  without  restriction  to  heathens  or 
Christians,  to  individuals  or  nations.  For,  whatever  individ- 
ual manifestly  declares  and  proves  himself  a  lover  and 
maker  of  Peace,  is  enabled  to  live  comparatively  at  peace, 
and  is  respected ;  and  whatever  nation  holds  up  the  same 
standard,  and  conforms  to  the  same  rule,  taking  no  undue 
advantage,  but  acting  in  good  faith  towards  others,  will 
never  fail  to  impress  the  world  with  esteem  and  admiration, 
and  to  hold  mankind  in  awe  by  its  very  virtues.  This  is 
neither  a  new  nor  hypothetical  ground  "of  reasoning ;  it  is 
confirmed  by  what  is  called  profane,  as  well  as  by  sacred 
history. 

The  preceding  reflections  have  arisen  upon  comparing  the 
state  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  both  at  the  time  of  the  first 
settlement  in  Pennsylvania  and  afterwards,  and  the  ex- 
ceptions that  occurred  in  the  latter  case,  with  the  circum- 
stances and  the  exception  which  are  stated  above  to  have 
taken  place  in  Ireland. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  peaceful  founder  of  Pennsylvania 
established  himself  securely  in  that  country,  at  a  time  when 
the  name  of  a  European  was  almost  hateful  to  the  Aborigi- 
nes, on  account  of  the  perfidy  and  cruelty  which  the  former 
had  manifested.  No  other  reason  for  the  opposite  treatment 
he  received  could  be  assigned  but  this,  —  that  he  adopted  a 
different  line  of  policy.  By  his  peaceable  attitude  he 
disarmed  their  violence  ;  and  by  his  sincerity  he  gained  their 
esteem.  His  towns,  without  either  garrison  or  fortress,  were 
protected ;  at  least,  were  free  from  assault.  And  peace  was 
maintained,  not  only  with  the  Indian  neighbors,  but  with  the 
more  dangerous  Europeans,  as  long  as  the  councils  of 
Pennsylvania  were  directed  by  peaceable  men.  When,  at 
last,  this  State  assumed  a  warlike  character,  it  was  assailed 
like  the  rest,  and  experienced  the  calamities  of  war. 

It  appears,  also,  that,  during  the  conflict  between  the 
Anglo-Americans  and  the  Indian  natives,  so  long  as  the 


87 

members  of  the  Society  remained  unarmed,  they  escaped 
without  injury ;  but,  when  they  took  up  arms,  or  fled  to 
garrison-towns  for  protection,  and  happened  to  fall  in  the 
way  of  the  Indians,  they  lost  their  lives. 

When  arms  were  seen  in  the  hands  of  those  who  were 
looked  upon  as  men  of  Peace,  they  excited  the  distrust  of 
the  warlike  Indian.  The  weapon  of  defence  (it  might  only 
be  named)  to  him  who  bore  it,  was  an  object  of  offence  to 
him  who  saw  it;  because  it  conveyed  the  notion  of  hostility, 
and  carried  the  idea  of  a  spirit  capable  of  revenge.  When 
this  appeared,  the  character  of  the  peaceful  Christian  was 
lost,  and  with  it  one  of  the  best  defences  with  which  a 
human  being  could  be  guarded. 

A  Friend,  named  Thomas  Chalkley,  who  was  travelling  in 
New  England  in  the  year  1704,  informs  us,  that,  "  about  this 
time,  the  Indians  were  very  barbarous  in  the  destruction 
of  the  English  inhabitants,  scalping  some,  and  knocking  out 
the  brains  of  others,  men,  women,  and  children,  by  which 
the  country  was  greatly  alarmed,  both  by  night  and  day; 
but  the  great  Lord  of  all  was  pleased  wonderfully  to  pre- 
serve our  Friends,  especially  those  who  kept  faithful  to  their 
peaceable  principle,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  recorded  in  his  excellent  sermon, 
which  he  preached  on  the  mount." 

Among  the  many  hundreds  that  were  slain,  he  heard  but 
of  three  Friends  being  killed ;  and,  according  to  the  infor- 
mation he  received,  their  destruction  was  very  remarkable. 
The  one  was  a  woman,  the  other  two  were  men. 

"  The  men,"  he  informs  us,  "  used  to  go  to  labor  without 
any  weapons,  and  trusted  to  the  Almighty,  and  depended  on 
his  providence  to  protect  them,  (it  being  their  principle  not 
to  use  weapons  of  war  to  offend  others,  or  defend  them- 
selves ;)  but,  a  spirit  of  distrust  taking  place  in  their  minds, 
they  took  weapons  of  war  to  defend  themselves ;  and  the 
Indians,  who  had  seen  them  several  times  without  them,  and 
let  them  alone,  saying, '  They  were  peaceable  men,  and  hurt 
nobody,  therefore  they  would  not  hurt  them,'  —  now,  seeing 
them  have  guns,  and  supposing  they  designed  to  kill  the 
Indians,  they  therefore  shot  the  men  dead. 

"  The  woman  had  remained  in  her  habitation,  and  could 
not  be  free  to  go  to  a  fortified  place  for  preservation  — 
neither  she,  her  son,  nor  daughter  —  nor  to  take  thither  the 
little  ones ;  but  the  poor  woman,  after  some  time,  began  to  let 
in  a  slavish  fear,  and  did  advise  her  children  to  go  with  her 
to  a  fort  not  far  from  their  dwelling.  Her  daughter,  being 


one  that  trusted  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  the  mighty  tower 
to  which  the  righteous  flee  and  find  safety,  could  not  consent 
to  go  with  her." 

The  daughter  testifies,  concerning  her  mother,  that  the 
latter  did  not  feel  herself  easy  at  the  garrison;  but  "often 
said  to  many,  that  she  felt  herself  in  a  beclouded  condition, 
and  more  shut  from  counsel  than  ever  she  had  been  since 
she  knew  the  truth;"  —  "and,  being  uneasy,  she  went  to 
move  to  a  Friend's  house  that  lived  in  the  neighborhood ;  and 
as  she  was  moving,  the  bloody,  cruel  Indians  lay  by  the  way 
and  killed  her ! " 

As  to  the  young  woman  herself,  her  husband  at  first 
treated  her  impression,  that  it  was  right  to  remain  quietly  in 
their  habitation,  as  a  mere  conceit,  the  offspring  of  delusion, 
and  he  urged  her  strongly  to  go  to  the  garrison ;  but  she  told 
him  "  he  must  never  ask  her  to  move  again,  for  she  durst  not 
do  it"  It  seems  that  she  had  already  been  prevailed  upon 
to  move  to  another  house  a  little  nearer  the  garrison,  but 
had  felt  condemnation  in  her  mind  for  that  step.  Her 
husband  still  urged  that  it  was  a  notion,  (meaning  a  delusive 
impression,)  till  a  Friend  came,  "who  satisfied  him  so  well, 
that  he  never  asked  her  more  to  go,  but  was  very  well 
contented  to  stay  all  the  wars;  and  then,"  she  adds,  "things 
were  made  more  easy,  and  we  saw  abundance  of  the 
wonderful  works,  and  of  the  mighty  power  of  the  Lord,  in 
keeping  and  preserving  us,  when  the  Indians  were  at  our 
doors  and  windows,  and  at  other  times." 

The  Indians  said,  «  They  had  no  quarrel  with  the  Quakers, 
for  they  were  a  quiet,  peaceable  people,  and  hurt  nobody, 
and  that  therefore  none  should  hurt  them." 

And,  although  about  this  time  the  Indians  shot  many 
people  as  they  rode  along  the  highway,  and  murdered  many 
in  their  beds,  Friends  travelled  the  country  without  injury. 
"The  people  generally  rode  and  went  to  their  worship 
armed,  but  Friends  went  to  their  meetings  without  either 
sword  or  gun,  having  their  trust  and  confidence  in  God." 
(See  Journal  of  Thomas  Chalkley,  chap,  ii.) 

This  is  the  testimony  of  an  individual  worthy  of  the 
fullest  credit,  as  to  matters  of  fact  which  occurred  more  than 
a  century  ago. 

Thomas  Story  informs  us,  that  "a  young  man,  a  Friend, 
and  a  tanner  by  trade,  going  from  the  town  to  his  work,  with 
a  gun  in  his  hand,  and  another  with  him,  iviihout  any,  the 
Indians  shot  him  ivho  had  the  gun,  but  hurt  not  Hie  other ;  and, 
when  they  knew  the  young  man  they  had  killed  was  a 


89 

Friend,  they  seemed  to  be  sorry  for  it,  but  blamed  him  for 
carrying  a  gun  ;  for  they  knew  the  Quakers  ivould  notfght,  nor 
do  them  any  harm ;  and,  therefore,  by  carrying  a  gun,  they 
took  him  for  an  enemy."  * 

If  we  go  back  to  the  early  history  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
in  Ireland,  we  shall  find  that  they  were  spread  over  the 
country  in  considerable  numbers  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution 
in  1688.  The  difficulties  and  distresses,  in  which  Friends 
were  involved  at  that  period,  were  much  greater,  and  more 
extensive,  than  in  the  last  Rebellion.  We  possess,  indeed, 
few  documents  from  which  we  can  draw  a  fair  comparison. 
But,  so  far  as  authentic  information  reaches,  it  appears,  that, 
by  keeping  true  to  their  peaceable  principles,  the  members 
of  the  Society,  who  lived  in  districts  a  prey  to  violence  and 
depredation,  were  often  made  instrumental  in  saving  the  lives 
of  their  neighbors,  having  generally  found  favor  with  the 
Government,  and  conducting  themselves  without  offence  to 
the  people. 

Considering  also  their  numbers,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  exposed,  by  attending  duly  their  religious  meetings, 
their  lives  were  signally  preserved. 

William  Edmunstone,  a  valuable  Friend,  residing  in  the 
Queen's  County,  who  had  been  a  soldier  himself,  and  kept  a 
Journal  of  some  of  the  transactions  of  that  period,  has  left 
the  following  important  testimony :  — 

"  The  Earl  of  Tyrconnel,  then  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland, 
armed  the  Irish,  and  disarmed  most  of  the  English,  so  that 
great  fear  came  upon  the  Protestants.  Most  of  the  great 
leading  men,  and  many  others,  left  their  places  and  substance, 
and  went  for  England ;  others  of  them  got  into  garrisons,  and 
those  that  staid  in  their  dwellings  lay  open  to  spoil.  An 
open  war  soon  broke  out,  and  abundance  of  the  Irish,  (who 
went  in  bands,  but  were  not  of  the  army,)  called  Rapparees, 
for  Tories;)  plundered  and  spoiled  many  of  the  English 
Protestants ;  also  many  of  the  army,  that  were  under  com- 
mand in  trobps  and  companies,  were  very  abusive,  being 

countenanced  by  their  officers."  — W.  E.  concluded 

that  these  abuses  were  "  a  contrivance  to  alarm  and  affright 
all  the  English,  to  make  them  run  for  England." 

On  several  occasions,  he  exerted  himself  with  good  effect, 
by  applying  personally  to  the  Government  for  the  relief  of 
his  friends  and  neighbors.  "  I  was  often,"  he  says,  "  at 
Dublin,  and  used  what  interest  I  had  gotten  with  the  Govern- 

*  Clarkson's  Life  of  Penn,  vol.  ii. 
8» 


90 

merit  for  the  public  good.  And,  as  the  Irish  army  were 
marching  to  the  North  against  the  Protestants  there  in  arms, 
I  was  much  concerned,  with  some  Friends  in  Dublin,  to  use 
all  our  interest  with  the  chief  officers,  to  spare  and  be  kind 
to  our  friends  in  the  North,  for  they  were  not  in  arms ;  an<? 
many  of  them  promised  they  would,  and  performed  thei 
promises." 

"Now  calamity  increased;  the  Rapparees,  on  one  hantf, 
plundered  and  spoiled  many  of  the  English;  and,  on  tht 
other  hand,  the  army,  marching  and  quartering,  took  whai 
they  pleased  from  us :  our  families  were  their  servants,  to 
make  what  we  had  ready  for  them ;  and  it  looked  like  sudden 
famine,  there  was  such  great  destruction. 

"In  those  times,  I  was  much  in  Dublin,  applying  to  the 
Government  in  behalf  -of  the  country, — for  the  Lord  had 
given  Friends  favor  with  the  Government;  and  they  would 
hear  my  complaint,  and  gave  forth  several  orders  to  magis- 
trates and  officers  of  the  army,  to  suppress  Rapparees,  and 
restrain  their  abuses ;  and  they  stood  a  little  in  awe  of  me, 
for  they  knew  I  had  an  interest  with  the  Government" 

"  Now  was  wickedness  let  loose  and  got  a  head,  so  that, 
by  violence  and  cruelty,  most  of  our  Protestant  neighbors 
were  forced  from  their  dwellings,  and  several  families  came 
to  my  house,  until  every  room  was  full ;  also  most  of  then- 
cattle,  that  were  left,  they  brought  to  my  land,  thinking 
themselves  and  goods  safer  there  than  elsewhere.  Now 
were  we  under  great  exercise  and  danger,  not  only  of  losing 
our  goods,  but  our  lives. 

"  At  the  Boyne  fight,  the  Irish  army  being  beaten,  many 
of  them  fled  our  road,  and  plundered  many  in  our  parts ;  they 

plundered  my  house  several  times  over. The 

English  army  did  not  come  near  us  for  some  time,  and,  to 
look  outwardly,  we  were  exposed  to  the  wills  of  cruel, 
bloodthirsty  men. 

"  When  the  English  and  Scotch  came  into  those  parts,  they 

plundered  the  Irish. Frequently,  when  the  English 

soldiers  took  away  the  Irish  people's  cattle,  I  persuaded  them 
to  give  some  of  them  again,  or  bought  them  for  a  small 
matter  with  my  own  money,  and  gave  them  to  the  owners ; 
also  let  their  horses  graze  on  my  land,  to  save  them  from  the 
plunderers." 

"  When  the  English  army  went  into  winter  quarters,  the 
Rapparees  increased  in  number  and  violence  ;  and,  notwith- 
standing the  services  W.  E.  had  often  rendered  them,  one 
night  they  set  fire  to  his  house,  and  took  him  and  his  two  sons 


91 

to  murder  them.  But  they  were  providentially  preserved, 
though  W.  E.  had  to  endure  severe  hardship  and  imprisonment 
afterwards,  which  nearly  cost  him  his  life.* 

Many  other  Friends  suffered  the  loss  of  their  property,  and 
their  lives  were  also  endangered ;  of  whom  further  particulars 
may  be  seen  in  Rutty's  History  of  the  Society  in  Ireland. 
The  following  cases  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader :  — 

"  At  the  town  of  Cavan,  (a  place  that  lay  open  to  both  the 
armies  and  to  the  cruelty  of"  the  rabble,)  several  Friends  kept 
their  places  and  dwellings,  and  held  their  usual  meetings ;  and 
though  sometimes,  in  skirmishes  between  the  two  armies,  many, 
were  slain,  yet  Friends'  lives  were  wonderfully  preserved,' 
though  in  their  outward  substance  they  were  spoiled  and 
stripped,  and  at  last  commanded  by  the  chief  officer  of  the 
Irish  army  to  depart,  and  their  houses  were  burnt," 

"Near  Edenderry,  (an  open  place  much  exposed  to  the 
Rapparees,)  Friends  were  greatly  spoiled  in  their  flocks  and 
outward  substance ;  but  their  lives  were  wonderfully  preserved, 
though  the  bloody  Rapparees  broke  in  upon  the  town  one 
night,  and  burnt  part  of  it,  and  killed  some  of  the  inhab- 
itants." 

At  Moate  Granoge,  six  miles  from  Athlone,  the  latter  of 
which  was  then  a  chief  Irish  garrison,  and  a  noted  place  of 
refuge,  to  which  the  Rapparees,  after  scouring  the  country, 
carried  their  spoils,  "  John  Clibborn  kept  his  place  long  in 
much  danger,  as  did  most  Friends  of  that  meeting,  which  they 
still  kept  up  with  great  difficulty.  While  J.  C.  could  possibly 
keep  his  house,  it  was  open  to  all,  and  a  succor  to  many,  both 
Friends  and  others ;  and  in  times  of  great  skirmishes  and 
slaughter,  he  did  not  flee  till  at  length  most  hardly  used,  plun- 
dered, and  quite  spoiled  in  his  outward  substance."  He  was 
threatened  with  death,  and  his  house  was  burnt. 

"  Mountmellick  and  Montrath,  tAvo  country  unwalled  towns, 
by  reason  of  their  bordering  upon  the  bogs  and  mountains, 
often  had  great  store  of  the  ravenous  Rapparees  haunting 
them ;  and,  being  places  of  little  or  no  defence,  Friends  that 
dwelt  in  them  sustained  a  large  share  of  the  many  hardships 
of  the  calamitous  times,  and  were  greatly  exercised  under  a 
concern  both  for  their  families  and  neighbors,  still  keeping  up 
their  meetings  with  an  eye  to  the  Lord,  who  did  not  leave 
nor  forsake  his  people  in  their  many  trials,  but  wonderfully 
provided  for  them  ;  so  that  it  is  to  be'  admired  how  their  little 

*  Sir  Wm.  Edmunstone's  Journal,  Sections  xi.  and  xii 


92 

stock  for  their  families  held  out,  considering  how  their  houses 
were  filled  with  people ;  and  many  alarms  came  from  the 
Irish,  threatening  to  destroy  those  places,  and  kill  all  the 
English." 

"Gershon  Boat,  dwelling  at  Borrisaleagh,  remote  from 
Friends,  and  ten  miles  from  any  meeting,  in  a  place  of  some 
strength,  suffered  many  hardships,  and  escaped  many  dangers, 
both  at  home  and  on  the  road  going  to  meetings  ;  his  house 
being  often  set  upon  by  the  Irish,  both  of  the  army  and  To- 
ries ;  but  he  was  wonderfully  delivered  out  of  their  hands ; 
and  many  English  families,  both  priests  and  others,  were  suc- 
cored there,  and  helped  on  their  way,  who  had  been  much 
spoiled  and  stripped  in  the  Irish  quarters  where  they 
dwelt." 

After  enumerating  these  and  other  instances  of  the  kind, 
the  author  of  the  History  remarks:  —  "These  particulars  may 
show  the  eminent  providential  hand  of  the  Lord  over  Friends, 
and  his  care  and  kindness  to  preserve  them  in  the  midst  of 
such  great  perils  ;  and  many  more  might  be  instanced :  and, 
though  in  those  times  many  of  the  English  neighbors  fell  by 
the  hands  of  those  bloody  murderers,  yet  we  know  but  of  four 
that  we  could  own  to  be  of  our  Society  in  alt  the  nation  that 
fell  by  the  hands  of  cruelty,  and  two  of  them  too  forwardly  ven- 
tured their  lives  when  they  wert  lost" 

"  And  it  is  remarkable  that  Friends'  meetings  were  pre- 
served peaceable,  and  that  they  kept  their  meetings  according 
to  the  usual  manner  for  the  worship  of  God,  as  well  as  for 
church  discipline,  without  much  disturbance  from  either  par- 
ty ;  though  many  times  Friends  went  to  them  in  great  perils 
by  reason  of  the  Rapparees,  Avho,  in  many  places,  waylaid 
people  to  rob  and  murder  them." 

After  these  trials,  which  lasted  nearly  three  years,  were 
over,  in  the  year  1692,  it  was  computed  that  the  losses  of 
Friends  throughout  the  nation  amounted  in  the  whole  to 
£100,000.  To  many  of  the  sufferers  relief  had  been  afforded 
by  their  sympathizing  brethren  in  Ireland ;  and  Friends  in 
London  signified  their  readiness  to  assist  them.  But  it  ap- 
pears, that  as  at  first  the  several  provinces  weie  able  to  help 
one  another,  the  friendly  offer  was  declined,  with  suitable 
acknowledgments:  afterwards,  however,  they  accepted  of 
their  distant  friends'  benevolence,  to  the  amount  of  nearly 
£2000. 

Even  from  Friends  in  Barbadoes  the  sum  of  £100  was  sent 
for  the  relief  of  Friends  in  Ireland,  on  this  occasion.  Thus 


93 

were  the  members  of  the  Society,  wherever  scattered,  nearly 
united  in  sympathy  and  affection.* 


BOMBARDMENT  OF  COPENHAGEN. 

The  following  anecdote  is  related  by  an  eye-witness— a 
lieutenant  in  the  navy.  There  is  reason  to  believe,  that  the 
person  of  whom  it  is  related  was  not  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  though  he  might  be  of  the  same  principle  with 
them  on  the  subject  of  War.  This  does  not  detract  from, 
but  gives  additional  force  to  the  fact  related  of  him. 

"  At  the  last  siege  of  Copenhagen,  being  then  a  young 
midshipman  on  board  his  Majesty's  ship  Valiant,  I  was  par- 
ticularly impressed  with  an  object  that  I  saw  three  or  four 
days  after  the  terrific  bombardment  of  that  devoted  place. 
For  several  nights  previous  to  the  surrender  of  Copenhagen, 
the  darkness  of  the  night  was  ushered  in  with  a  tremendous 
roar  of  guns  and  mortars,  accompanied  by  the  whizzing  of 
tlwse  destructive  and  burning  engines  of  warfare,  Congreve's 
rockets.  The  dreadful  effects  of  this  destructive  warfare 
were  made  visible  by  the  brilliant  lights  in  the  city.  Soon 
did  the  blazing  houses,  and  the  burning  cottages  of  the  labor- 
ing poor,  illuminate  the  heavens.  The  wide-spreading  flames, 
reflected  on  the  water,  showed  a  forest  of  ships,  all  assem- 
bled round  the  city  for  its  destruction.  When  the  bombard- 
ment had  commenced,  and  every  woman  and  child  fled  from 
the  destructive  shell,  shot,  and  rocket,  and  from  the  burning 
and  falling  houses,  a  little  child  was  seen  running  across  the 
street  for  shelter,  it  knew  not  where,  when  a  rocket,  flying 
through  the  street,  killed,  in  its  way,  the  poor  innocent.  Oh, 
Britain,  queen  of  nations !  mother  of  such  manly  sons !  are 
these  thy  works  ? — After  several  of  these  horrific  nights,  the 
Danes  gave  up  their  arsenal,  and  all  it  contained,  to  the  Eng- 
lish. Some  days  after,  walking  among  the  ruins,  consisting 
of  the  cottages  of  the  poor,  houses  of  the  rich,  manufactories, 
lofty  steeples,  humble  meeting-houses  ;  —  in  the  midst  of  this 
broad  field  of  desolation  stood  one  house  —  all  around  it  was 
a  burnt  mass  —  this  stood  alone,  untouched  by  the  fire  —  a 
monument  of  mercy.  « Whose  house  is  that  ? '  I  asked.  *  That,' 

*  See  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  People  called 
Quakers,  in  Ireland,  from  the  year  1653  to  1750,  by  Thomas 
Wight  and  John  Rutty,  ch.  ii. 


94 

said  the  interpreter, « belongs  to,  and  is  occupied  by  a  member 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  :  he  would  not  leave  the  house,  but 
remained  in  prayer  with  his  family  during  the  bombardment.' 
Surely,  thought  I,  the  *  hairs  of  thy  head  were  numbered.' 
'He  has  been  a  shield  to  thee  in  battle;'  'a  wall  of  fire  round 
thee  ; '  a  bright  and  shining  witness  of  that  care  our  Lord  and 
Savior  has  over  those  who  follow  peace.  <  Blessed  are  the 
peacemakers,  for  they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God.' 
'Tis  the  example  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  ;  and  all  who  follow 
him  need  not,  and  will  not,  fear  the  puny  arm  of  man.  It  will 
be  well  with  the  righteous  in  those  times. 

«  LIEUT.  J.  W.  H.  HANDLEY." 


The  following  extract  from  Raymond's  Travels  in  the  Pyr- 
enees contains  some  reflections  that  are  worthy  of  being 
added  to  this  chapter. 

Speaking  of  the  Spanish  smugglers,  he  says,  "  These  smug- 
glers are  as  adroit  as  they  are  determined,  are  familiarized  at 
all  times  with  peril,  and  march  in  the  very  face  of  death ;  their 
first  movement  is  a  never-failing  shot,  and  certainly  would  be 
a  subject  of  dread  to  most  travellers ;  for  where  are  they  to 
be  dreaded  more  than  in  deserts,  where  crime  has  nothing  to 
witness  it,  and  the  feeble  no  assistance  ?  As  for  myself,  alone 
and  unarmed,  I  have  met  them  without  anxiety,  and  have  ac- 
companied them  without  fear.  We  have  little  to  apprehend 
from  men  whom  we  inspire  with  no  distrust  nor  envy,  and 
every  thing  to  expect  in  those  from  whom  we  claim  only  what 
is  due  from  man  to  man.  The  laws  of  nature  still  exist  for 
those  who  have  long  shaken  off  the  laws  of  civil  government. 
At  war  with  society,  they  are  sometimes  at  peace  with  their 
fellows.  The  assassin  has  been  my  guide  in  the  defiles  of 
the  boundaries  of  Italy ;  the  smuggler  of  the  Pyrenees  has 
received  me  with  a  welcome  in  his  secret  paths. 

"  Armed,  I  should  have  been  the  enemy  of  both ;  unarmed,  they 
have  alike  respected  me.  In  such  expectation,  I  have  long  since 
laid  aside  all  menacing  apparatus  whatever.  Arms  may,  indeed, 
be  employed  against  the  wild  beast,  but  no  one  should  forget 
that  they  are  no  defence  against  the  traitor ;  that  they  irritate 
the  wicked,  and  intimidate  the  simpk ;  lastly,  that  the  man  of 
peace,  among  mankind,  has  a  much  more  sacred  defence  —  his 
character" 

When  such  feelings  as  these  arise  in  the  breast  of  a  man, 
who,  simply  from  outward  observation,  is  led  to  view  human 
nature  as  a  compound  of  good  and  evil,  that  may  be  concili- 


ated  by  kindness,  and  aggrieved  by  the  contrary ;  how  strong, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Christian,  must  be  the  sanction  of  princi- 
ples derived  from  the  spirit  of  his  holy  religion,  whose  direct 
object  it  is  to  cherish  such  benevolent  dispositions,  as  would, 
if  men  would  suffer  themselves  to  be  influenced  by  them, 
lead  to  universal  peace  and  harmony  in  the  world  ! 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Of  the  Brotherly  Care  of  the  Society  towards  its  Suffering 
Members. 

IT  has  already  been  stated,  that,  on  the  first  appearance  of 
the  civil  feuds  which  ushered  in  the  Rebellion  of  1798,  even 
so  early  as  the  year  1795,  the  Society  of  Friends  exercised 
a  consistent  care  in  advising  its  members  to  destroy  their 
arms,  that  they  might  on  all  hands  keep  themselves  free 
from  the  stain  of  blood.  We  have  now  to  record  the  fact  of 
their  brotherly  sympathy  being  extended  in  deeds  of  active 
benevolence  towards  those  families  and  individuals,  who,  by 
reason  of  their  severe  losses,  were  so  reduced  as  to  stand  in 
need  of  their  friends'  assistance.  The  proofs  of  a  wise  Chris- 
tian economy  are  no  less  manifest  in  the  latter  case  than  in 
the  former. 

A  committee  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  held  in  Dublin,  was 
very  early  appointed  to  take  the  circumstances  of  their  suffer- 
ing brethren  into  consideration;  for  many,  who  had  been 
blessed  with  comfortable  homes  and  means  of  supporting  their 
families,  were  left  almost  destitute  ;  and  this  committee  rec- 
ommended a  voluntary  subscription  to  be  raised  by  the  differ- 
ent monthly  meetings  for  their  relief. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Report  of  this  com- 
mittee presented  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  1799.  It  will  be 
seen  that  they  scrupled  conscientiously  to  seek  redress  for 
their  losses  by  the  usual  legal  means :  — 

"We  apprehend  it  proper  to  inform  the  Yearly  Meeting, 
that  shortly  after  our  appointment,  divers  members  of  our 
Religious  Society  having  suffered  loss  and  damage  in  their 
substance,  in  various  ways,  by  the  commotions  which  were  in 
this  nation,  we  came  to  the  judgment,  that  it  would  be  incon- 
sistent for  any  of  our  members  in  most,  if  not  in  all,  cases,  to 


96 

seek  for,  or  to  receive  compensation  from  government,  or 
other  legal  redress  by  presentment :  and  we  having  received 
account,  that  in  different  parts  divers  Friends  had  suffered  so 
materially  as  to  stand  in  need  of  assistance,  recommended  to 
the  different  monthly  meetings  to  set  forward  a  liberal  sub- 
scription to  afford  some  relief  to  those  Friends.  In  conse- 
quence whereof,  the  sum  of  £3847  Us.  9&d.  has  been  sub- 
scribed and  received ;  and  a  number  of  suffering  pases  having 
been  laid  before  us,  we  have  adjudged  the  sum  of  £2217  7s. 
2£rf.  for  their  relief ;  their  losses  appearing  to  amount  to  up- 
wards of  £7500,  exclusive  of  many  cases  not  yet  disposed  of, 
or  returned ;  and  there  remains  a  fund  of  £1630  4s.  Id.  still 
to  be  applied  for  this  purpose.  We  have  also  received  account 
of  the  losses  of  sundry  Friends  to  a  considerable  amount, 
whose  circumstances  did  not  make  it  necessary  for  them  to 
need  any  relief  at  present.'' 

The  memorial  issued  by  the  said  Yearly  Meeting  in  1810, 
relative  to  this  event,  proceeds  to  state :  — 

"  The  said  committee  further  reported  to  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing in  1800,  viz.  « We  have  attended  to  the  cases  of  those 
Friends  who  have  suffered  in  the  late  commotions,  and  believe 
suitable  assistance  has  been  afforded  to  such ;  and  that  there 
are  not  now  likely  to  be  any  further  cases  transmitted  to  the 
committee.  The  amount  distributed  to  those  who  appeared 
to  stand  in  need  thereof  is  £2852  15s.  10£d.,  and  the  balance 
remaining  in  the  treasurer's  hands  being  £994  15s.  lid.,  we 
have  come  to  the  judgment  that  it  be  returned  to  the  different 
monthly  meetings,  in  proportion  to  the  sums  sent  up  by  them ; 
and  that  it  ought  to  be  returned,  in  like  proportion,  to  the 
Friends  subscribing  the  same.' " 

The  document  of  1810  further  states,  that  «  The  Yearly 
Meeting  in  London  in  1799,  being  dipped  into  sympathy  with 
Friends  in  Ireland,  cordially  offered  their  assistance,  if  further 
exigencies  should  require. 

"  Neither  did  distance  of  place  prevent  our  brethren  in  a 
distant  land  from  desiring  to  contribute  to  the  necessities  of 
their  Friends  in  distress ;  for,  by  the  following  extract  from 
the  Epistle  from  the  Yearly  Meeting  held  in  Philadelphia  in 
the  4th  month,  1799,  it  aopears  that  the  same  spirit  of  broth- 
erly affection  and  sympathy  prevailed  in  the  hearts  of  Friends 
there. 

" « We  retain  in  affectionate  remembrance  the  sympathy  of 
Friends  in  your  nation,  and  the  generous  relief  you  afforded 
to  our  brethren  who  were  much  stripped  of  their  property 
by  the  war  in  this  country  some  years  since ;  and  we  are 


97 

thankful  in  feeling  a  decree  of  the  same  brotherly  love,  by 
which  we  are  made  one  in  the  Lord,  wherever  dispersed  or 
situated  ;  desiring  if,  at  this  time,  or  in  consequence  of  future 
trials,  brethren  among  you  should  be  reduced  to  similar  cir- 
cumstances, we  may  receive  information  and  be  permitted  to 
follow  your  benevolent  example.' " 

This  affectionate  proposal  was  gratefully  acknowledged  by 
the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Dublin  in  1801,  in  its  Epistle  to  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  Philadelphia,  In  these  terms:  —  "Your 
Epistle  oriven  forth  in  1799,  addressed  to  Friends  in  Ireland, 
we  received ;  which  feelingly  carried  with  it  genuine  marks 
of  strong  affection,  and  near  sympathy  with  us,  under  the 
trials,  which  Friends  in  this  land,  previous  thereto,  and  about 
that  time,  labored  under. 

"  It  is  cause  of  humble  thankfulness  that  the  dispensation 
was  not  of  a  very  long  continuance,  though  many  Friends 
suffered  deeply  in  their  property  while  the  conflict  continued ; 
and  it  was  much  more  severe  in  some  parts  of  the  nation  than 
others. 

"  A  considerable  sum  was  raised,  which,  under  the  direction 
and  management  of  a  National  Committee,  was  administered 
to  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  in  such  proportion,  as,  from  the 
accounts  transmitted  of  their  loss  and  circumstances,  they 
appeared  to  require.  When  these  wants  were  supplied,  there 
was  a  redundancy,  which  Avas  directed  to  be  returned  to  the 
subscribers  ;  so  that  we  do  not  at  present  stand  in  need  of 
making  any  further  use  of  your  brotherly  intimation  of 
affording  assistance,  than  that  of  expressing  a  grateful  sense 
thereof." 

Without  question,  it  must  afford  a  pleasing  reflection  to 
every  humane  mind,  that  a  Religious  Society,  conformably  to 
the  analogy  of  the  outward  body,  should,  in  this  way,  suffer 
and  sympathize  in  the  sufferings  of  all  its  members  ;  and, 
though  dispersed  over  a  nation,  should  constitute,  as  it  were, 
but  a  single  family,  bound  together  by  common  interests. 

Viewed  abstractedly  as  the  effect  of  a  benevolent  Christian 
economy,  practised  in  a  particular  Society,  the  fact  must  also 
be  a  source  of  gratification,  that  strangers,  even  in  distant 
countries,  should  offer  their  kind  assistance  to  those  in  need. 
For  we  are  told,  that  the  Friends  in  England,  and  even  in 
America,  requested  permission  to  send  their  contributions, 
should  they  be  required. 

But,  contemplating  the  fact,  as  if  the  same  principles  of 
conduct  might  be  made  applicable  to  the  whole  Christian 
community  how  consoling  and  animating  would  be  the  pros- 


pect  of  all  the  members  of  the  Christian  Church,  however 
scattered,  and  however  divided  by  minute  shades  of  opinion, 
being  brought  to  unite  in  the  bond  of  Peace,  in  a  common 
desire  to  do  each  other  good,  to  obey  the  same  rule,  and  to 
adopt  in  their  practice  the  same  principles  ! 

It  would  require  no  great  stretch  of  faith  to  believe,  that 
conduct  like  this  would  lead  them  to  a  union  which  no  earthly 
power  could  shake,  and  that  Jews,  Mahometans,  and  Pagans, 
would  bow  down  with  reverence  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity, 
and  surrender  their  might  before  the  excellency  of  such  a 
peaceful  dominion.  Because  these,  constituting  part  of  the 
human  family,  and  therefore  objects  of  this  catholic  benevo- 
lence, would  receive  from  their  Christian  neighbors  such  les- 
sons of  peace  and  good-will,  as  would  imbue  them  with  kind 
dispositions,  and  take  away  all  evil  intentions  from  their 
minds. 

It  could  not  injure  any,  whatever  might  be  their  opinions 
with  regard  to  the  necessity  of  War,  to  study  with  deep  atten- 
tion the  moral  effect  of  this  Christian  spirit  01  universal  chari- 
ty ;  which  has  thus  a  tendency  to  unite  together  nations, 
kindreds,  and  people,  as  children  of  one  parent,  and  servants 
of  one  Lord,  —  "thinking  no  evil,"  "forbearing  one  another," 
"  loving  one  another,"  "  preferring  one  another,"  "  seeking  the 
good  of  all ; "  —  and  to  compare  it  with  the  opposite  spirit, 
which  is  ever  busy  in  discovering  faults,  in  awakening  evil 
surmisings,  in  sowing  the  seeds  of  contention,  and  setting 
man  at  variance  with  man,  in  kindling  the  flame  of  War,  and 
promoting  the  misery,  demoralization,  and  destruction  of  the 
human  race.  How  can  we  conceive  it  possible  that  these 
opposite  dispositions  should  ever  be  brought  to  coincide  in 
the  perfect  character  —  the  true  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ  ? 

Is  it  possible  that  the  same  individual  can  be  actuated  at 
the  same  time  by  the  maxims  and  principles  of  Peace,  and 
the  maxims  and  principles  of  War  ?  But  if  these  are  incom- 
patible, and  War  could  be  tolerated  under  the  Christian  code ; 
then  the  maxims  and  principles  of  Peace  might  be  dispensed 
with  under  the  same  code.  Where  shall  we  find  the  authority 
for  thus  stripping  off  the  distinguishing  badge  of  the  Christian, 
that  he  may  be  fitted  for  the  field  of  battle  ?  There  is  no 
such  authority :  it  is  opposed  by  every  rule  and  maxim,  by 
every  law  and  principle,  in  the  New  Testament  Conse- 
quently, the  maxims  and  principles  of  Peace  cannot,  under 
any  circumstances,  be  dispensed  with ;  and  warlike  habits 
and  dispositions  are  entirely  incompatible  with  the  meek  and 
forgiving  spirit  of  Christianity.  The  rule  of  expediency,  as 


99 

it  is  called,  may  promise  much ;  and  men  may  employ  their 
sophistry  in  attempting  to  reconcile  the  two  characters  But 
calculations  of  present  advantage,  can  never  be  admitted  to 
form  a  part  of  the  motives  by  which  a  Christian  should  be 
governed  ;  nor  will  he,  who,  in 'simplicity  of  heart,  wishes  to 
follow  the  example  of  a  meek  and  forgiving  Savior,  with 
faithful  obedience  to  his  laws,  and  humble  confidence  in  his 
divine  protection,  ever  be  justified  in  forsaking  the  direct  and 
straight-forward  course  of  integrity,  to  preserve  life  or  prop- 
erty, for  the  serpentine  mazes  of  a  wily  policy,  by  which  he 
might  bring  himself  to  think  that  he  could  secure  these 
transitory  blessings. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 
Concluding  Observations. 

SOME  observations  naturally  present  themselves  to  the 
mind  on  reading  the  foregoing  narrative. 

We  have  seen  that,  in  a  time  of  civil  commotion,  in  which 
it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  a  state  of  things  attended  in 
some  places  with  more  aggravated  circumstances,  a  number 
of  individuals,  following  the  benevolent  precepts  of  the  Gos- 
pel, were  enabled  to  keep  themselves  free  from  party-feelings, 
to  open  their  houses  and  to  lend  their  assistance  to  the  dis- 
tressed, whatever  their  denomination  ;  and  that,  finally,  they 
were  permitted  to  experience  preservation  in  the  midst  of  a 
most  barbarous  and  destructive  warfare.  This  exemplary 
humanity,  and  this  remarkable  preservation,  were  not  confined 
to  one  or  a  few  individuals  in  a  particular  spot;  but  were 
common  to  a  considerable  number  of  persons,  in  different 
parts  of  an  extensive  country,  professing  and  following  the 
same  principles.  And  when  they  were  threatened  with  the 
burning  of  their  habitations,  the  destruction  of  their  families, 
and  the  loss  of  their  own  lives,  if  they  persisted  in  acts  de- 
nounced by  their  enemies  ;  they  were  favored  with  fortitude, 
notwithstanding,  to  pursue  that  line  of  conduct,  which  they 
believed  to  be  consistent  with  their  duty,  fearlessly  and  faith- 
fully, in  the  presence  of  armed  multitudes,  who  seemed  even 
to  be  kept  in  awe  by  their  Christian  magnanimity. 

We  have  seen  that  the  signal  preservation  which  the 


100 

members  of  the  Society  were  favored  to  experience,  was 
marked  by  one  exception,  in  the  case  of  a  young-  man,  who 
fell  a  victim  to  his  own  temerity ;  and  that  the  peculiar 
circumstinces,  under  which,  this  apparent  exception  took 
place,  serve  rather  to  illustrate  and  establish,  than  to  invali- 
date, the  principles  by  which  the  Society  was  governed. 

In  addition  to  these  things,  we  have  to  notice,  in  the 
economy  of  the  Society  itself,  the  sympathy  and  brotherly 
kindness  manifested  not  only  by  their  countrymen,  but  by 
Friends  at  a  distance ;  by  the  first,  in  coining  forward  to 
relieve  their  suffering  brethren,  and,  by  the  last,  in  offers 
of  assistance,  should  it  be  required. 

Upon  a  consideration  of  all  these  things,  a  number  of 
reflections  offer  themselves  to  our  notice. 

In  the  first  place,  we  naturally  feel  a  desire,  that  principles 
like  those  by  which  this  body  of  Christians  were  actuated, 
should  prevail  more  generally  in  the  world ;  and  we  are  led 
to  inquire  if  it  be  not  possible,  that  moral  effects  which  took 
place  on  a  small  scale,  should  take  place  also  on  a  larger ; 
that  a  beginning  might  thus  be  made  for  that  glorious 
consummation,  when  men  shall  learn  war  no  more. 

We  must  be  satisfied,  that  what  is  wanting,  in  the  first 
instance,  is  courage  to  maintain  the  self-denying  and  pea<y!- 
able  principles  of  the  Gospel;  and,  if  examples  be  required, 
then,  by  the  facts  recorded,  we  give  the  advocates  of  war 
decisive  proofs  that  these  principles  are  not  visionary  and 
inapplicable  to  the  state  of  civil  society ;  but  that  they  are 
substantial  and  efficient  when  brought  into  operation,  con- 
tributing to  the  preservation  of  individuals,  and  to  the 
general  good  of  the  human  family. 

Can  we  reasonably  doubt,  if  the  numbers  of  those  who, 
amidst  the  horrors  of  this  Rebellion,  acted  upon  these  princi- 
ples, and  endeavored  thus  to  fulfil  their  duties  to  their  fellow- 
creatures,  had  been  still  greater,  that  the  triumph  of  humanity, 
or  of  peaceable  practices  over  Avarlike,  would  also  have  been 
greater,  and  that  many,  who  fell  victims,  would  have  been 
spared  ? 

In  proportion  as  the  elements  of  Peace  encroach  upon  and 
displace  the  elements  of  War,  the  force  of  the  latter  must 
become  weaker ;  in  other  words,  in  proportion  to  the  numbers 
of  those  who  lift  up  the  standard  of  Peace  in  any  country, 
Peace  is  diligently  pursued  and  religiously  preserved,  and 
the  sparks  of  contention,  whenever  they  appear,  are,  as  when 
water  is  cast  upon  fire,  stifled  and  extinguished. 

For,  as  this  devouring  element  only  spreads  among  com- 


101 

bustible  materials,  when  these;are  Jfapgiqg?  it  must  ce#se ;  so 
the  passions  of  revenge  and  crueity,J  wheii  they  ai  e  opposed 
by  meekness  and  benevol £nce,, having.* rx>  -fo3{l  for  ^thc  flame, 
must,  of  necessity,  be  calired  und,  appGaseo1^;  y',  •»  v '  *  >  • 

Were  a  whole  nation  to  act  upon  these  principles,  what  an 
example  it  would  be  to  the  world !  and  is  there  any  wrath  or 
violence  of  man  it  could  have  cause  to  fear? 

Tf  the  life  of  one  man  is  preserved,  who,  in  time  of 
imminent  peril,  conscientiously  displays  the  mark  of  true 
discipleship,  in  love  to  his  enemy  as  well  as  to  his  brother, 
we  rejoice  at  the  event ;  though,  as  an  isolated  example,  we 
might  not  perhaps  be  induced  to  build  upon  it  in  our  future 
conduct.  But  if  a  number,  acting  upon  the  same  principles, 
under  very  various  circumstances,  are  found  to  experience 
preservation,  we  have  then  something  like  the  proofs  afforded 
by  matter  of  fact,  to  lead  us  -to  entertain  a  question  upon  the 
possibility  of  the  same  effects  resulting  from  the  same  causes, 
on  a  still  larger  scale,  if  men  would  only  have  courage  to 
make  the  experiment 

If,  in  addition  to  the  evidence  derived  from  experience,  of 
the  efficacy  of  peaceable  conduct,  we  have  the  precept  and 
example  of  Him  who  pronounced  his  blessing  upon  the  peace- 
maker, what  stronger  sanction  can  a  sincere  Christian  look 
for,  to  determine  him  to  renounce  the  spirit  and  the  trade  of 
War,  and  to  enlist  himself  under  the  banner  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace  ? 

And,  as  we  could  not  rationally,  and  certainly  not  as 
Christians,  contend,  that  a  lengthened  existence  was  a  proof 
of  peculiar  favor,  in  a  pilgrimage  like  that  of  the  present  life, 
in  which  some  of  the  best  of  men  have  been  permitted  to  run 
but  a  short  career,  before  they  were  summoned  to  their 
reward,  —  we  are  called  upon  religiously  to  adhere  to  our 
principles  in  times  of  outward  extremity,  without  any  pro- 
spective view  to  a  limited  or  a  protracted  duration.  The 
Supreme  Being  is  surely  not  less  merciful  to  his  creatures, 
because  he  permits  some  of  them  to  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the 
sword  of  the  cruel,  in  order  that  they  may  be  translated,  a 
little  sooner  than  would  otherwise  be  their  lot,  to  the  regions 
of  bliss  and  immortality. 

The  sword  of  the  cruel,  we  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt, 
has  never  been  permitted  to  cut  off  the  innocent,  without  a 
merciful  design  to  the  sufferer,  and  a  gracious  purpose  of 
watering  and^  multiplying  the  seed  of  the  true  church  with 
the  martyrs'  blood.  For,  whosoever  has  died  in  the  faithful 
support  of  his  Christian  testimonies,  has,  in  all  ages,  been  a 
9* 


102 

martyr ,  and  we  may  co-rmdentiy  say,  that  his  blood  has  not 
been  shed 'upon  the  eaftli  in  vain. 

WhsiieYer'Vipicnefc, :  therefore,  has  been  permitted  to  gain, 
aslt"wei:e','a  temporary  advantage  ever  the  meek  and  unresist- 
ing spirit  of  Christianity  —  which  is  the  spirit  of  Peace  — we 
are  warranted  in  concluding  that  it  has  been  for  some  special 
end.  And  what  are  we  to  consider  that  end,  but  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  good  over  evil,  and,  consequently,  the  enlargement 
of  the  Messiah's  kingdom  ?  In  all  ages,  when  devoted  and 
faithful  martyrs  have  sealed  their  testimony  with  their  blood, 
it  has  proved  a  seed  more  or  less  fruitful,  according  to  a 
variety  of  concomitant  circumstances.  In  various  periods  of 
the  church,  its  living-  members  have  had  to  pass  through 
different  dispensations,  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
times  ;  in  some,  more  humiliating  —  in  others,  more  triumph- 
ant —  in  all,  deeply  baptizing  to  themselves.  But  the  self- 
denying  spirit  of  Christianity  requires,  that,  in  all  cases,  the 
possessions  and  honors  of  this  world,  and  even  life  itself, 
should  be  held  in  light  estimation,  compared  with  the  joys, 
and  rewards,  and  glories,  of  immortality.  When  violence, 
therefore,  in  a  dark  and  degenerate  age,  is  allowed  to  prevail 
over  Christian  meekness,  as  if  there  were  no  Providence  to 
protect  the  good,  it  cannot  be  consistently  supposed,  that 
these  are  actually  forsaken,  and  that  the  possession  of  property 
and  of  life,  secured  by  means  of  active  resistance,  is  to  be 
accounted  a  sign  of  divine  favor,  justifying  the  use  of  arms. 

In  such  an  age,  for  inscrutable  purposes,  examples  are, 
perhaps,  more  necessary  to  be  made  to  the  world,  of  the 
sufferings,  than  of  the  triumphs,  of  Christianity. 

But  if,  in  former  times,  Christians  were  called  upon  to  seal 
their  testimony  with  their  blood,  can  they  now  refuse  to  do 
the  same,  when  present  advantage  may  come  in  competition 
with  the  duties  of  love  and  forbearance  ? 

If  men  are  determined,  in  their  minds,  to  live  at  ease,  at 
all  hazards,  and  conceive  that  Christianity  does  not  now 
require  of  them  the  sacrifices  which  it  did  in  the  first  ages 
of  the  church,  they  will,  unquestionably,  suffer  the  standard 
of  the  Cross  to  fall  from  their  hands,  rather  than  expose 
themselves  to  suffering,  and  perhaps  to  contempt,  in  the 
support  of  it. 

While,  on  the  one  hand,  therefore,  it  is  certain,  that  no 
degree  of  bitterness  and  persecution  can  extinguish  the  light 
of  the  true  church,  —  on  the  other,  all  those  who  endeavor  to 
hold  up  this  light  in  its  purity  to  the  world — whether  it  be  to 
an  age  sunk  in  ignorance,  or  carelessly  reposing  in  the  false 


103 

light  of  an  erroneous  philosophy  —  are  as  stars  in  the  firma- 
ment, and  as  witnesses  of  imperishable  renown,  who  have 
borne  a  noble  testimony  for  the  truth,  and  will  be  accessory, 
in  their  measure,  to  its  ultimate  triumph  over  darkness  and 
.delusion.  Hence,  as  a  faithful  and  conscientious  support 
of  any  Christian  testimony,  even  if  the  sacrifice  should 
proceed  as  far  as  the  stake  or  the  cross,  will  infallibly 
strengthen  the  bonds  and  attachments  to  the  Christian 
church,  and  help  to  keep  its  holy  flame  alive  in  the  earth ; 
so  every  Christian  who,  in  a  meek  and  peaceable  spirit, 
suffers  wrong,  either  in  person  or  property,  from  violent  men, 
exalts  the  character  of  his  religion  in  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
and,  after  the  glorious  example  of  his  divine  Master,  in  his 
measure,  holds  up,  for  imitation,  the  same  spirit  of  meekness, 
forbearance,  and  universal  benevolence,  that  was  in  Christ. 

This,  therefore,  is  the  peculiar  feature  of  the  Guspel, 
which  is  calculated,  more  than  any  other,  to  excite  the  love 
and  admiration  of  the  world.  For  it  is  almost  impossible 
that  rational  beings  should  contemplate  a  religion,  which 
looks  upon,  all  men  with  peace  and  good  will,  and  enables  its 
followers  to  forgive  them  that  offend,  to  love  their  enemies,  to  do 
good  even  to  them  that  hate,  and  to  bless  them  that  persecute, 
without  feelings  of  admiration,  and  of  reverence  for  its 
divine  precepts. 

It  is  indeed  to  be  acknowledged,  that  events,  like  some  of 
those  we  have  been  relating,  have  a  tendency  to  rouse  our 
honest  indignation  against  cruelty,  perpetrated  or  designed ; 
so  that,  in  the  natural  heat  of  the  mind,  we  are  almost 
tempted,  like  some  formerly,  to  pray  that  we  might  be  armed 
with  power  to  execute  summary  vengeance  upon  the  authors 
and  projectors  of  such  atrocities :  these  are  natural  feelings, 
but  they  are  not  Christian.  And,  while  it  is  the  duty  of  an 
honest  historian,  with  just  abhorrence  of  crime,  to  detail  facts 
as  they  occurred,  it  is  also  the  duty  of  a  fellow-mortal  to 
temper  this  indignation  with  feelings  of  Christian  compassion. 
While  we  lament  the  vices  of  others,  let  us  not  forget  our 
own  infirmities,  and  our  own  duties.  If  these  are  not  Chris- 
tian duties,  what  are  they  to  be  denominated  ?  Are  we  at 
liberty  to  take  the  natural  impulses  which  are  common  to  us 
with  the  brutes,  and  which  flourish  most  in  the  most  barbarous 
state  of  human  society,  for  rules  of  conduct,  and  motives  of 
action,  more  obligatory  than  the  moderating,  humanizing, 
and  restraining  precepts  of  the  Gospel  ? 

It  is  not  presumed,  that  the  conquest  over  our  own  passions 
and  resentments  is  easily  acquired.  Like  other  Christian 


104 

duties,  the  subjection  of  our  natural  impulses  is  a  work  of 
time,  and  discipline,  and  labor.  No  man  can,  at  once,  be 
brought  to  see  that  it  would  be  wrong1  to  take  the  life  of  a 
remorseless  assassin,  who  is  dealing  destruction  around  him, 
as  with  an  insatiable  thirst  for  human  blood ;  yet  no  man 
who  professes  Christian  principles,  can  doubt  that  there  is  a' 
power  able  to  control  his  fury,  if  it  were  consistent  with 
divine  mercy  that  it  should  be  controlled.  And,  surely, 
various  effectual  means  are  in  the  power,  and  at  the  disposal 
of  the  wise  and  good,  both  to  restrain  and  to  punish  the  mur- 
derer, without  either  taking  away  his  life,  or  violating  their 
own  Christian  principles. 

On  a  solemn  review,  therefore,  of  the  two  states  —  that  of 
the  ferocious  murderer,  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  his  crimes,  or 
that,  of  an  innocent  victim  prepared  for  a  better  life  ;  which 
is  most  entitled  to  our  serious  commiseration?  —  He  who 
yields  up  his  life,  with  a  meek  and  forgiving  disposition,  in 
obedience  to  th^  law,  and  after  the  example  of  Christ;  or,  he 
who  is  cut  down  in  his  enormities,  and  sent  unprepared  to  the 
bar  of  the  Righteous  Avenger?  —  Surely,  the  latter. 

But,  it  may  be  said,  that  this  reasoning  does  not  so  much 
apply  to  the  conflict  of  the  innocent  and  cruel,  as  to  that 
between  one  of  the  latter  and  a  human  being  not  yet  in  a 
situation  fitting  him  to  appear  before  his  Maker ;  and  hence, 
that  such  a  one  ought  to  guard  his  existence,  by  every  means 
in  his  power,  in  order  that  he  may  be  better  prepared.  To 
this  objection  a  very  brief  reply  may  be  made,  that  the  per- 
fect rules  of  Christian  excellence  cannot  be  modified  or 
lowered,  at  the  will  of  man;  so  as  to  acquit  any  who  may 
content  themselves  with  the  adoption  of  measures,  which,  so 
far  from  being  allowed,  are  strictly  forbidden,  even  to  the 
most  upright  pillars  of  the  Christian  faith. 

When  we  can  find  in  the  New  Testament  two  paths  for 
Christian  travellers;  —  one  for  the  more  advanced,  and 
another  laid  down  for  him  "who  is  not  disposed  to  walk  in 
such  a  strait  and  narrow  way  ;  then,  indeed,  some  relaxation 
of  Christian  precepts  may  be  allowed  :  but,  if  it  be  granted  to 
one.  it  must  be  so  to  all.  And  as  there  is  plainly  but  one 
code,  admitting  of  neither  exceptions  nor  reservations,  no 
man  can  expect  to  justify  himself  in  any  act  that  does  not 
come  up  to  the  full  measure  of  the  excellence  and  unsophis- 
ticated construction  of  the  sacred  rule. 

Is  a  Christian,  then,  to  take  the  law  of  violence  in  his  own 
hands,  to  avenge  himself  by  the  strength  of  his  own  arm,  for 
wrongs  he  may  either  fear  or  suffer?  Or  is  he,  in  humble 


105 

reliance  upon  Providence,  to  oppose  his  integrity,  and  his 
innocence,  and  the  weight  of  his  Christian  testimonies,  to  the 
arms  and  outrage  of  the  violent? 

If  we  reason  with  those  who  answer  the  first  question  in 
the  affirmative,  we  find,  that  they  readily  admit  that  it  is  a 
praiseworthy  self-devotion  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  our 
country,  or  in  defence  of  our  civil  liberties,  or  of  our  kindred  ; 
but,  at" the  same  time,  insinuate  that  it  is  mean  and  ignoble 
to  die  for  our  religion,  in  the  peaceable  support  and  vindica- 
tion of  any  of  our  testimonies.  That  is  to  say,  according  to 
their  views,  —  It  is  more  the  duty  of  a.  Christian  to  sacrifice 
his  life  in  the  defence  of  earthly  comforts  and  attractions, 
than  to  lay  it  down,  if  he  should  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  cruel,  who  will  not  respect  his  testimonies,  in  that  meek 
and  forgiving  spirit,  which  his  religion  enjoins,  with  the  pros- 
pect of  eternal  happiness  as  the  reward  of  his  obedience:  — 
To  secure  the  fame  of  a  patriot,  or  for  some  other  sublunary 
object,  he  may  lose  his  life  with  honor;  but  to  secure  an 
object  that  is  eternal,  the  sacrifice  is  accounted  ignominious ! 
—  In  the  short  and  weary  pilgrimage  of  this  life,  which  has, 
in  reality,  few  objects  deserving  the  exclusive  notice  of  the 
true  Christian,  he  may  die  nobly  for  some  stake  of  little 
value,  the  importance  of  which  is  magnified  by  its  nearness ; 
but  if  he  lay  down  his  life  for  a  crown  of  immortality,  he  is 
to  be  considered  a  zealot  or  enthusiast,  because  the  object, 
though  of  transcendent  moment,  is  a  litile  more  distant!  —  a 
mode  of  calculation  directly  opposed  to  that  of  Christ, — 
"What  is  a  man  profited  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  his  own  soul?" 

Patriotism  is,  undoubtedly,  commendable  ;  and  they,  who 
have  died  in  the  cause  of  civil  liberty,  deserve  their  due 
meed  of  honor.  But  patriotism,  without  Christianity,  can 
only  erect  a  baseless  fabric  that  must  crumble  into  ruins. 
The  only  enduring  support  of  civil  liberty  is  the  Gospel, 
with  its  humanizing,  emancipating,  soul-expanding  institu- 
tions. When  patriotism  is  made  to  supersede  this  vital 
spring  of  all  virtue,  then  the  glory  of  this  world  is  made  to 
eclipse  the  brighter  glory  of  that  which  is  to  come.  "  ff  my 
kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then  would  ??w/  sei-vnnis  j?o-/f/." 
The  most  valuable  legacy,  which  a  man  can  leave  his  coun- 
try, is  a  life  devoted  to  the  practical  illustration  of  one  or 
more  of  his  Christian  testimonies,  maintained  in  their  original 
purity.  The  mind  of  man,  however  enlightened,  c;>n  excogi- 
tate nothing  more  excellent,  nothing  more  conducive  to  the 
well-being  of  society,  nothing  more  useful  to  the  whole  race, 


106  % 

than  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel.  For  what  do  they  compre- 
hend, but  the  very  spirit  of  universal  charity  ?  PEACE  ON 
EARTH  AND  GOOD-WILL  TO  MEN  are  the  objects  aimed  at 
by  the  promulgation  of  this  blessing  —  the  foundation  on 
which  it  rests,  and  the  source  from  which  all  its  institutions 
are  derived.  Hence  true  patriotism  may  display  itself 
efficiently  and  usefully  without  taking  up  arms,  either  to 
defend  rights  or  to  secure  privileges  ;  for  the  patriotism  of  a 
Christian  is  continually  aiming  at  the  highest  interests  of 
man  ;  and  as  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  needs  not  the 
aid  of  the  sword,  neither  can  patriotism,  viewed  in  this  light, 
need  it. 

We  take  it  for  granted,  that  it  is  upon  the  broad  basis  of 
Christian  principles  a/one,  that  reasonings  against  the  use  of 
arms  ought  to  be  founded  ;  inasmuch  as  the  Church  of  Christ 
has  never  required  the  aid  of  the  sword  for  its  propagation, 
—  nay,  has  been  signally  retarded  in  its  course,  whenever 
this  false  friend  has  come  forward  to  its  assistance. 

Now,  as  we  read  in  history,  that  there  have  been  periods 
of  depression  in  the  Church,  so  we  are  to  consider  that  there 
may  be  such  again,  in  which  Christians  may  be  called  upon 
to  lay  down  their  lives  in  obedience  to  their  testimonies ; 
consequently,  that  violence  may  be  permitted  again,  as  in 
former  ages,  to  shed  the  blood  of  faithful  witnesses,  as  in  the 
streets.  Upon  these  principles  we  could  not  expect  that,  at 
all  times  and  under  all  circumstances,  the  lives  of  peaceful 
Christians  should  be  spared. 

The  Gospel,  in  its  purity,  has  many  valuable  testimonies, 
besides  that  in  favor  of  peace  and  harmony  amongst  men  : 
some  persons,  we  know,  have  yielded  up  their  lives  on  mere 
points  of  faith,  which  their  adversaries  were  not  in  a  state  of 
mind  to  comprehend  ;  but  there  is  no  human  being  who  can 
shut  his  heart  or  his  understanding  against  the  influence  of 
peaceable,  unoffending  conduct. 

It  would  therefore  appear,  that,  whenever  a  stand  has  been 
conscientiously  made  on  the  one  single  testimony  against 
War,  either  by  many  or  by  few,  preservation  of  life  has,  in  a 
remarkable  manner,  been  experienced.  And  it  may  be  for 
this  reason,  that  there  is  no  other  Christian  testimony,  in  the 
support  of  which  the  meek  and  humble  disciple  is  led  to 
evince,  more  conspicuously,  his  allegiance  and  child-like 
dependence  upon  the  immediate  protection  of  an  Almighty 
Parent ;  no  other  testimony  which  is  more  calculated  to  win 
the  disaffected,  to  tame  the  cruel,  and  to  soften  the  violent. 

And,  on  this  ground,  which  seems  to  have  more  reference 


107 

to  the  natural  effects  cf  peaceable  conduct,  than  to  the 
principle  as  a  Christian  tenet,  an  objection  may  be  noticed, 
which  is  sometimes  put  forward,  in  the  shape  of  a  conclusive 
argument,  against  the  disciple  of  Peace,  by  his  opponents. 

They  suppose  a  man,  who  may  suddenly  profess  to  act 
according  to  peaceable  principles,  to  be  all  at  once  involved 
in  some  serious  crisis  of  difficulty  and  danger ;  and,  under 
these  circumstances,  if  he  cannot  escape  from  the  difficulty, 
by  a  strict  adherence  to  his  Christian  principles,  they  are 
ready,  forthwith,  to  question  the  doctrine  and  its  practical 
application.  For  they  hastily  conclude,  that  his  principles, 
being,  as  they  suppose,  too  refined  for  use,  cannot  be  main- 
tained in  practice  ;  without  considering  that  he  might  have 
been  instrumental  in  bringing  upon  himself  the  dangers  in 
which  he  is  involved,  by  giving  way  to  principles  of  an 
opposite  tendency  in  his  previous  conduct. 

Now,  this  is  not  a  fair  supposition,  nor  is  it  a  fair  predica- 
ment in  which  to  place  him. 

We  have  before  said,  that  a  man  cannot  at  once  be  brought 
to  see  that  it  is  wrong  to  take  away  the  life  of  a  remorseless 
assassin.  We  now  say,  on  the  other  hand,  that  when  a  man 
has  been  for  a  long  time  sowing  the  seeds  of  contention,  and 
has  in  this  way  made  himself  liable  to  the  consequences; 
and  then,  impelled  by  fear  or  by  a  better  motive,  suddenly 
repents  of  his  antichfistian  conduct,  and  takes  up  a  resolu- 
tion to  change  it ;  he  ought  not  to  expect  that  he  should 
instantly  reap  the  fruits  of  Peace,  nor  ought  he  (if,  indeed, 
ever)  to  presume  upon  Divine  protection,  in  such  circum- 
stances. 

For,  in  so  far  as  the  systematic  lover  of  Peace  may  be 
concerned  in  the  affairs  of 'life,  and  be  allowed  to  throw  the 
weight  of  his  influence  into  the  scale  of  events,  whether  civil 
or  political,  it  is  obvious,  that  if  the  principles  of  peace  and 
good-will  should  be  acted  upon  in  good  faith,  between  those 
who  might  be  otherwise  disposed  to  contend,  the  danger  and 
the  extremity,  and  the  predicament  in  question,  through  the 
medium  of  his  influence,  would  not  occur. 

It  is  not  fair,  therefore,  to  place  the  follower  of  Peace  in  a 
difficulty,  into  which  his  own  principles  would  never  lead 
him,  and  then,  as  if  the  validity  of  his  principles  were  to 
be  staked  upon  the  event,  to  challenge  him  to  extricate  him- 
self from  the  outward  perplexity,  by  any  other  mean?  than 
what  his  opponents  denominate  the  lawful  struggle  of  violence 
for  the  maintenance  of  civil  order,  against  those  who  would 
break  down  its  barriers  and  overturn  the  most  sacred  institu- 


108 

tions  of  human  society.  For  it  cannot,  in  reason,  be  expected, 
that  a  sudden  adoption  of  pacific  sentiments,  accompanied  by 
a  momentary  fervor  of  piety,  and  impassioned  invocation  of 
the  Great  Name,  should  be  availing  towards  the  preservation 
of  any,  who  are  in  the  extremity  of  danger  from  barbarian 
cruelty,  when  they  may  have  been  living  for  a  long  time  in 
systematic  opposition  to  the  very  principles,  and  in  direct 
violation  of  the  laws,  which  they  are  thus  hastily  acknowl- 
edging. Humble  reliance  upon  Providence  is  not  a  duty  to 
be  observed  only  in  the  hour  of  danger ;  it  is  as  necessary  to 
the  right-minded  in  the  season  of  outward  Peace,  as  in  that 
of  War.  It  is  riot  while  the  storm  is  raging,  that  prayer  is 
likely  to  be  effectual,  when  it  is  offered  by  those,  who,  in  the 
time  of  prosperity,  never  approach  the  throne  of  mercy  to 
acknowledge  the  blessing's  showered  upon  them  by  Divine 
favor.  Neither  is  it  in  the  hour  of  imminent  danger,  that  we 
can  expect  a  passive  submission  will  be  availing  to  disarm 
and  conciliate  the  ferocious  ;  unless  the  mind  is  at  the  same 
time  deeply  imbued  with  Christian  meekness,  and  resigna- 
tion, and  humble  reliance  upon  Providence. 

Now,  \ve  are  not  Disposed  to  argue  upon  this  point  with 
those,  who  cannot  conceive  this  latter  state,  and  who  only 
reason  as  if  the  impulse  of  mere  human  indignation  against 
wrong  afforded  sufficient  grounds  to  justify  retaliation.  We 
cannot  expect  to  convince  men  against  the  force  of  the 
whole  practical  principles  of  their  lives.  If  they  have  been 
outward  in  their  views  of  the  protection  of  either  property 
or  life, — outward  in  all  their  calculations  of  expediency, — 
outward  in  every  plan  of  earthly  aggrandizement — so  th-at 
they  are  almost  ready  triumphantly  to  boast  themselves 
indt  pendent  of  the  care  and  notice  of  their  Heavenly  Father; 
—  we  no  more  suppose  that  they  will  become  suddenly  the 
reverse,  and  capable  of  seeing  the  exact  relation  between  a 
disciple  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  and  a  misguided  fellow- 
creature,  than  that  an  eye,  long  used  to  darkness,  should  at 
once  be  able  to  endure  the  light,  or  an  untutored  Indian  to 
comprehend  the  profoundest  principles  of  philosophy. 

We  do,  however,  expect  that  those,  who  have  examined 
the  genuine  principles  of  the  Gospel,  and  have  seen  that 
they  are  all  of  a  self-denying  tendency,  should  pause  a  mo- 
ment, before  they  sanction  the  doctrine,  that  a  meek  and 
consistent  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  is  at  all  to  be  justified  in 
avenging  either  himself,  or  his  brother,  or  his  country,  with 
the  sword,  —  in  other  words,  is  at  liberty  to  oppose  violence 
to  violence,  cruelty  to  cruelty  and  murder  to  murder. 


/t? 


A  04118 


M128821 


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